Sometimes it’s hard to know how much to share on a blog. I mean, I want my online diary to contain each and every part of my life, and in general I think I tend to be fairly open and transparent. I am blessed by teens who love the fact I blog and love the fact I blog about them even more! Usually I don’t think about what to include and what not to.
Today is different. I have been absent for a while because of an incident with a member of our little family, which has left us all shell-shocked and totally concerned about the world in which our children live. You all know a year ago Thomas was robbed at knife point. I shared then the difficulties of coming to terms with the our teens growing up and going out into the world on their own and all they now have to face.
I can’t go into any details because of the ongoing court case, but a member of our family was involved in a potentially life threatening attack. Whilst all involved are, thank God, okay, the charge being brought against the attacker is attempted murder. Attempted murder. How does a mother move past that?
You see stuff on the news and in the papers, but all these things happen to other people. People you neither know nor love. Somehow, although you tut and shake your head at the horrors in the world today, there is still a disconnect. Horrors are now so frequent, and the dark side of life is so often now laid down for all to see. And we become accustomed to it; maybe even blasé about it.
But then it happens a bit too close to home, and you begin to realise that no-one is immune. No matter how much we protect our families, no matter how close we keep them, they are still vulnerable. This attack took place in broad daylight, in a busy, heavily populated area, a place traditionally deemed safe. And a place where each member of our family has been multiple times. Not a rough area. Not in the dark. Not down a quiet alley.
Sometimes loving other people so much is terribly hard