Daily Rose and Thorn

The highlight of today, beyond any doubt, was playing with Luke at the park. He gets along so great with other kids. He is so polite, so creative and so pleasant to be around. Yes, I am his mom, so of course I am biased; however, as a person who has been around a lot of little monsters, mine is definitely one of the sweeter ones.

Today's thorn was clearly the events that transpired in Tucson today. The Safeway where Gabrielle Giffords was shot is one that Matt and I have frequented in Tucson before we moved away, and is a block away from our new future home. Obviously, the location has no bearing on why the events occurred; however, it does create a very eerie feeling. I keep thinking how easily Matt or I could have been at that grocery store had we moved up earlier. The fact that there is so much overt and demonic hate that has festered in Arizona makes me so disappointed in so much. A Tucson sheriff called Arizona the mecca for bigotry and prejudice thought. I agree. I do not know how or when it will change, but I can say that despite the horrific incident that occurred today, I am still very proud to be a citizen of Tucson again. What happened today was not Tucson. It does not represent the docile, moderate nature of the city. But, if what happened today can happen in Tucson, then it could happen any place. If we do not stop the compulsion to hate without just cause then I worry that my children may be raised in a 1960's like era where mindless assassinations are far too common. I hope that this incident sparks a change towards finding a common ground instead of drawing more lines in the sand.