remember

I have been reluctant to post about Haiti here. I am trying to be more positive this year. And what has happened in Haiti just breaks my heart. But it is kind of also unfathomable. I read a headline the other day that 250 000 bodies were found in Port O Prince. I can't even imagine that. Here's a comparison for you. All of a sudden the entire city of Saskatoon is wiped out. A whole city. And I've seen pictures from Haiti. They live in huts and shacks and boxes, on top of each other. And everything has just been flattened. Where do you even start a rescue mission like that?

Of course, things always hit harder when they're closer to home. This morning Mom called to say don't come the usual way to drop off Lucas. Because somone was killed in front of the 7-11 by her place. A guy was crossing the street in his wheelchair and was hit by a vehicle. And he died. And in a wheelchair, he can't just get out of the way. He might even have seen it coming. And Mom knows exactly who it is...not by name, but she sees him out and about every morning. Whenever I hear about someone in a wheelchair involved in an accident in that neighbourhood I think of a good friend of mine from Jr. High, who's brother is in a wheelchair and lives over there. My heart skips a beat and I hope that it wasn't him.

This is a reminder to all us drivers out there to put down the cellphones. To go a little slower, heck for some people that pass me on my way to work, going the speed limit would be a change for the better. To watch for people and wheelchairs and bicycles. I will admit that I am a bit of a Sunday driver. I never used to be. But I have heard of too many accidents that could have been avoided. Every day I go to work I pass the place where that little boy was hit by a big truck when he was trying to cross the street. And I think of that family. And I think of Lucas.

I am a mother, so when a child is injured my heart breaks.
I am a daughter, so when a parent is hurt my memories wash over me.
I am a wife, so when a husband is killed I am in agony.
I am a HUMAN, so when some stranger is killed in front of a 7-11 one morning and I have to take a detour, I cry. This man gets my tears, and a moment of silence, and this blog post.

good morning. go hug your kids. call your husband. say I love you. today is a beautiful day to be alive.