Beginning of a Solemn Christmas

It was the start of a solemn Christmas. It has been two weeks since the terrible shooting Newton School Shooting.
 Seeing that scene on the news that morning was nothing more then shocking. It was horrible enough that just a few months before the Aurora shootings took place, but now we have another. After the Newton Shooting I received news that a family friend, their two youngest children had died in a car crash. That was the most shocking. It was surreal and I could not help, but think about the family.
While on vacation me and my family stopped at the Death Railroad and Hellfire Pass. The Death Railroad was a railroad built by Allied POWs during World War II where nearly 16,000 POWs died during the construction. Hellfire Pass is haunting when you realize how many lives were lost and how many men would never return home to their families.
I am not one to take death very well. I am deeply saddened by death no matter age or gender. These three reminders of death and suffering made me realize how short life really is. It is terribly cliche to say that, but it is so true. We never know when our time will come. The children in Connecticut had no idea that they would die that morning, my family friend had no idea that when they were driving home they would end up in a crash resulting in two dying, and how many young POWs died in Thailand.
We go through life everyday, taking everyday for granted. We never just stop and enjoy it for a second, we never stop to enjoy our families. As I sat with family eating Christmas dinner, I was glad to be alive and enjoying myself with my overly loud and overly large family. I silently gave a prayer for the families who had children who had died in the Newton School Shooting and that they would be able to be comforted and for my family friend who is now going through a terrible time of mourning.

"There’s only one thing we can be sure of, and that is the love that we have -- for our children, for our families, for each other. The warmth of a small child’s embrace -- that is true. The memories we have of them, the joy that they bring, the wonder we see through their eyes, that fierce and boundless love we feel for them, a love that takes us out of ourselves, and binds us to something larger -- we know that’s what matters."
-President Obama

So Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you all will remember to keep your families close this year and pray for those who have lost.

R.I.P.
Charlotte. Daniel. Olivia. Josephine. Ana. Dylan. Madeleine. Catherine. Chase. Jesse. James. Grace. Emilie. Jack. Noah. Caroline. Jessica. Benjamin. Avielle. Allison.
Josiah. Sara.