Tuesday, March 20

Just a little blue...

We have been having absolutely gorgeous weather here for about a week now; sunny and many times warmer than it should be for this time of year.  Despite all of that, there are a couple of events that have touched me, and I can't shake that heaviness....

Yesterday, as I was going through my e-mail, a colleague (with whom I went to high school) stopped by my door and told me that she had heard of the death of a third girl that we both knew (also from high school).  A quick online search gave no results, so, of course, when I had the chance I called my mother, who surprisingly told me that she had heard the same information from my sister.

My sister confirmed the news and provided what sad details she had.  This girl had been a friend of my sister, but a large group of us had hung out together because of common interests (music in particular), and probably because we all came from diverse backgrounds.  She had done very well for herself professionally and leaves behind a husband (who I remember as being a really nice guy a the same school) and three children.  I had seen her profile on Linked In, and had considered contacting her, but had hesitated, which in retrospect, was silly of me.  I'm so shocked and distracted, thinking back to this lively group of girls and thinking of how I should try harder to keep in touch with them.

But as I mentioned above, that is not the only thing on my mind.

We currently have a trial happening here where the accused is being charged with the kidnapping, sexual assault and murder of a little girl, an event that happened around Easter in 2009.  For the most part, I have been too busy to pay much attention to the coverage, but I happened to see an article about the accomplice who has been convicted and read it.  What a mistake that was.  My heart went cold, because there were details that had not, before this current trial, been made public (in fact, there had been a publication ban during the first trial).  I travel past the courthouse every day on my way to work and see all of the media vehicles parked around it, but the part that got to me most was when the article talked about that little girl.  When she was taken, she was a year or so older than my oldest, so the event affected me at the time; but while reading that article, I could see similarities to my own children.  Words cannot adequately describe my feelings about the perpetrators, about the event, about the loss of this little girl.  I feel beyond hate or sickness or sadness.

So as I try to get through my day, my thoughts drift toward these two girls, and their families.  May they be thought of often in happier times and may they rest in peace.

Monday, March 12

Yes, I'm still here....

...I have just been too busy running to be able to sit down and write.  Since spring is coming, I thought I'd change the look of things again.  I'm thrilled to have found some of the new blogs that I've added to my list - so many more people to discover!
Anyway, it's time to make tea, and then tackle the cleaning, and maybe (if I'm lucky) I can sit down and write some more!