Parents know an anxiety quite unlike any other. They have genetically created a human being, a living person who needs love, guidance, protection, safety, nurturing, and so much more. Children grow into teenagers who grow into adults who grow into parents themselves. As parents, we feel an overwhelming anxiety to provide for our children the best we can and protect our children the best we can. After a school shooting, like the one which recently happened in the unsuspecting town of Parkland, Florida, parents can feel more protective than usual. School shootings are unlikely to happen. Though many have happened in a short period of time, they are unlikely to happen. That, however, is precisely what most parents thought on February 14th when they dropped their children off at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. How is a parent to know that their child will be safe? For parents, who are used to micromanaging what children eat, what they touch, if they are in danger of hurting themselves, who they hang out with, and more, must learn to trust that their child will do the right thing in all situations of life, to protect themselves and others.
Focus on the bigger picture
Parents know better than anyone that there are a million and one things which pose a threat to our children every single day. When we experience anxiety over a specific subject, like a school shooting, our narrow sightedness prohibits us from seeing the bigger picture. Fear of a school shooting is fear of the unpredictable, the unpreventable, and the uncontrollable- a hallmark of anxiety. However, there are endless factors which are unpreventable, uncontrollable, and unpredictable happening in our lives and the lives of our loved ones every day. At first that might not seem to be a relaxing fact. Taking a look at the bigger picture, it can be. Each day, we confidently watch our family go in separate directions with faith that whatever comes their way, they will be able to handle it. Of course, there is a distinct difference between something like a gun and getting chewing gum in one’s hair. Still, we trust that our families will make it through the day and come home. Life after a school shooting should include nothing more and nothing less than that same faith. Our world is a chaotic one. Our families are the rhyme and reason in between moments of disruption. Maintain faith that your family is built on love, knows how to handle a crisis, and will find a way back to one another at the end of the day.
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