No words

I was supposed to be writing today. After I got SonB to preschool, and Baby Girl down for her nap, and the groceries put away and the dinner prep done--I was going to sit down and try to pound out 1-2k words on the sequel to DEFY.

Instead, I'm sitting here shaking, crying, horrified.

I have some friends who ran the Boston Marathon today, so of course, the first thing I thought about when I heard of the explosions was those women and their families. Were they safe? What was happening? One of them had posted a picture of them at the finish line, but the comments beneath it quickly turned from "Congrats! You are amazing!" to "are you okay??" "Please let us know if you're safe!!"... that silence was long and terrifying. When she finally posted she was okay, the relief was immense.

But others were not so lucky, and that's why I'm sitting here so devastated. It's the end of a marathon--one of the hardest things you can push a human body through. I know the feelings at the end of a race--the exhaustion, the relief, the triumph and overwhelming sense of accomplishment. It should be a place of joy. Of relief. Of tears of happiness. Not screaming, horror, chaos,blood and death.

I don't even know what I'm hoping to accomplish with this post. I guess, it just hit me--yet again. You really never know. Hold to those you love, hold them tightly. You just never, ever know. There is no guarantee in this life and in an instant, it can be gone.

I hope we can all take the time to reach out to those we love and let them know how much we care. To hold our children a little bit longer tonight. To kiss your spouse or girlfriend/boyfriend more deeply and tell them how much you love them. To make that call to your sister/brother/friend who you maybe haven't talked to in a while.

Life is precious. This world we live in is scary. All we can do is love more, better, stronger, and pray for those who need it at this time.