Annie's Texas Musings
  • Home
  • Annie's Blogs
    • February, 2016
    • January, 2016
    • December, 2015
    • April - 2015
    • March - 2015
    • February - 2015
    • January - 2015
    • December - 2014
    • November - 2014
    • March - 2014
    • February - 2014
    • January - 2014
    • December - 2013 >
      • Goodbye 2013
      • Morning Dove
      • Dark Garden
      • If I Tell You the Truth...
      • A Moment of Clarity
      • Mark Twain’s Top 9 Tips for Living a Kick-Ass Life
      • Dave Barry Wisdom for Christmas
      • Merry Christmas Baby!
      • My Year - Remembered 2013
      • Oh Christmas Tree
      • The Shadows We Cast - Joe Hesch
      • Grinched
      • Masks
      • Merry Christmas - Wrapped in Red
      • Monday Musings
      • Adventures in Glass Blowing
    • November >
      • No Choices
      • Sudden Storm
      • Ice Fall
      • One Saturday Night...
      • Gut Feelings
      • Silence
      • What You Want
      • My Corner
      • Lost
      • Relics
      • Waiting
      • Dreams
      • Melancholy Life
      • Obvious
      • My Debt (after Bernard Cooper)
      • This Time...
      • Blue
      • The Wind
      • Nightmare
      • Electric
      • In That Moment
      • What Came First?
      • Secret Name
      • Winter's Fight
      • Crossing Over
      • The Best House
      • Safety
      • Blowing in the Wind
      • My Home
    • October >
      • Enjoying Poe
      • All That Jazz
      • Water Baby
      • Blue-Black Nights
      • Lost
      • Tonight
      • Into the Light
      • I Come From...
      • Lies I Told You
      • Midnight Radio
      • Suspicions
      • In Death
      • Just Be
      • Mother's Gifts
      • What's in a Name?
      • Fire
      • Warning
      • As Far as He Could Go
      • The Oak
      • The History of Anger
      • Poetry...Found
      • Those Days
      • Enough
      • Midnight Train
      • Me
      • Small Mistakes
      • Stolen Moments
      • Dark Desire
      • Ocean Fog
      • The Forgotten
      • Denial
    • September >
      • Floating
      • The Night
      • A Study in Time - Micropoetry
      • Stalking Loneliness
      • Night Fall
      • Thoughts!
      • A Key
      • Surprises!
      • Ode to Autumn
      • Bonfire
      • Love?
      • Barefoot Princess
      • Life Landscapes
      • Shadows
      • Words
      • Secrets
      • Remember
      • Red Ant Highway
      • Underground
      • Me
      • Too Far
      • Haunting
      • Fallen
      • Mystery
      • Her Fate
      • Eavesdrop
      • Jealous
      • You
      • The Dance
      • Clouds
    • August >
      • Longing
      • Changes
      • Strong
      • Faith
      • Friends
      • Future
      • Landscape
      • Face in the Window
      • Winter
      • Life Choices
      • Knowledge
      • Sleep
      • Dark Nights
      • Evening Walk
      • Abandoned
      • Insecurities
      • Alone?
      • Signs
      • My Secret
      • Death of Love
      • Poet
      • First Meeting
      • Water Light
      • Fake
      • First
      • The View
      • Grandpa's Mystery
      • The Middle
      • Unremarkable Days
      • Misunderstood
      • Forever~
    • July >
      • All Along
      • The Eclipse...
      • Crocus Moon
      • Every Night
      • Movie Night
      • Taking a New Road
      • Privacy
      • Expectations
      • Anytime...
      • ...Ten Years
      • No Explanations
      • Choice
      • Unexpected
      • Unfocused
      • Unspoken
      • Betrayal
      • Going Home
      • A Study in Black and White
      • Senor ... Senorita
      • Night Owl
      • The Game
      • Love Letters
      • Only Here! Only Now!
      • The Garden Gate
      • That Kiss...
      • Poetry - Pablo Neruda
      • Rain
      • Hooked
      • Memory
      • The Edge
      • Just Passing Through
    • June >
      • Writing!
      • Harvest Moon
      • Small Change
      • What Will I Leave?
      • Fresh Sheets
      • French Quarter
      • Starlight
      • Katy Scarlett
      • The Rains Came
      • Flip Flop Queen!
      • The Wait
      • Glimpse
      • Summer Days
      • Secret Island
      • Bones in The Sky
      • Yes...I am a GEEK!
      • The Old Ones
      • Napping
      • PERKS!
      • Days Gone By
      • ... the Pines
      • The Other Side
      • Flash Fiction Challenge
      • Don't Be Sorry!
      • Trapped
      • Joys and Fears
      • Victim
      • Fear
      • Alone
      • Sacred
  • Archieves 2013
    • February >
      • Only a Dream
      • Twilight
      • Birthday Present
      • Blue
      • Reckless Abandon
      • My Star
      • Writing Practice: Words to Live By
      • Opal
      • War Dogs
      • Peach Picking Time
      • Texas Nights
      • The BOX
      • I'll Sleep When I'm Dead!
      • La Nuit!
      • Love is...
      • Valentine's Eve
      • Fat Tuesday
      • Oh How Happy!
      • Sarah Elizabeth
      • Dreams of Scotland
      • Train Sounds
      • Nearing Midnight
      • Inaugural Poetry
    • March >
      • The Last Time
      • Long Way Home
      • Today
      • San Antonio Rose
      • Dusk to Dawn
      • Signs
      • Caught I & II
      • Mesquites
      • Midnight
      • Your Life Story
      • Sometimes They are Just Words
      • Kiss My Grits!
      • Summer Fun
      • Dance Me to the End of Love
      • Lonesome
      • tomorrow
      • The Longing
      • Remember - Joy Harjo
      • Stargypsy
      • The End of the Road
      • My Mother's Eyes
      • My Father's Eyes
      • Mystery
      • Shooting Star
      • Hair - ARG!
      • Pink and White
      • This Much is Known ...
      • The Balcony
      • How Did it Happen?
    • April >
      • ... inside the Morning
      • Trapped
      • When Angels Fall
      • ... and Stars Align
      • Window Seat Rag!
      • My Left Arm Days 9 & 10
      • My Left Arm Day 8
      • My Left Arm Day 7
      • My Left Arm Day 6
      • My Left Arm Days 4 & 5
      • My Left Arm Day 3
      • My Left Arm
      • The Best Burger!
      • I still don't know...
      • Mom and Dad
      • April is National Poetry Month
      • Second Chances
      • Summer Rain
      • WIND
      • Exchange
      • Pain
      • Greet the Day
    • May >
      • Tears
      • Early Morning
      • The Color of Midnight
      • Silence
      • Supplication
      • Angels
      • Ball Lightning
      • Afternoon Moon
      • Morning Shadows
      • One Day ...
      • Painting
      • The Climb
      • Eavesdropping
      • Tarot
      • No Regrets
      • Rememberances
      • Abandoned
      • Why not...
      • Snake
      • The Ring
      • Harley
      • Rain
      • This is Love
      • Margin Notes
      • ...and I Fell
      • When We First Met
      • ...and there were dragons
      • ...Momma Said
      • TODAY
  • Reading List 2016
    • February, 2016
    • January 2016

Sandy Hook Revisited

12/13/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
Source: WeHeartIt
Today marks one year since the tragedy that devastated Newtown.  My heart has been heavy for the past week.  My thoughts toward the families and their grief that will never end.  The media pushes it daily, clambering to release the 911 tapes, keep the wounds fresh and open for those who lost their children, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, and friends.  I see both sides of that release, however, once it happened … nothing new was discovered and did we really need to hear that played out over the airwaves.  Did this make a difference for gun control?  Will this make a difference for monitoring mentally ill individuals and their access to high powered repeating rifles?  I wish I had answers, however, these questions will always remain if something is not done about easy access to guns of all kinds.  In my own state, it is easier to buy a gun with less documentation than it is to vote.  Something is definitely wrong with that picture.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Here is a piece of micropoetry that was written on December 10, 2013:


… my heart is heavy
as the year of grief 
has only increased
… children should
never die needlessly©


Picture
Source: WeHeartIt


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Below is a blog post that I wrote last year and again I feel it needs to be shared again today 
of all days. It was originally posted on my blog www.texasmusings.blog.com December 22, 2012.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Healing!

It has been a week and a day since the tragic shooting that occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary.  I am a Curriculum Specialist for a small elementary campus in a large Central Texas School District.  This past week we have had meetings daily to discuss changes needed to make our campus more secure in the light of what happened in Newtown.  There are district required safety procedures in place, monthly crisis drills, not just fire and tornado, but drills related to how to respond, react, and protect should something of a building threat happen.  Added to everything we have been doing for safety, we now have to focus on how to respond to a potential bomb threat.  This came about because a neighboring district had 11 bomb threats in less than two weeks.

We already have all outside entrances locked except the front door.  Those areas are not readily visible even with security cameras and are not as secure as we would like them to be. However, they are as secure as we can make them without adding bars everywhere.  The bottom line, this is a place for children to learn and not a prison.

Our campus has not made a big deal of the tragedy to our students.  When concerns were brought up, we addressed direct questions, but did not dwell on the situation.  Our students need to feel safe and secure where they spend the majority of their day every week.  We are ever watchful, but we don’t want to alarm students with undue concern.

On top of everything, the news media is reporting unsettling recommendations for schools…armed guards, hand guns for all classroom teachers and administrators.  These are the two most frequent and controversial recommendations that keep coming to the forefront.  This is distressing and disturbing on many levels for educators, and I am not sure would prevent a gun tragedy if enacted. Personally, I think this could result in more casualties, trigger happy individuals, deaths from friendly fire…I could go on, but it has to stop somewhere.

With the focus on Sandy Hook and the tragic loss of children, teachers, and administrators our faculty and staff have been more aware of what a situation of this type would mean to us.  There have been constant hugs in the hallways, more “I love you’s” spoken between friends, genuine caring and concern for co-workers…even those who are not the touchy feely type are showing emotions that are unusual for them.   As a staff, we have a card signed and ready to send to the remaining staff and students of Sandy Hook Elementary when we know just where to mail it so we can show our support and concern.

Yesterday was the last day of the first semester, students went home early and teachers spent the remainder of the day finalizing grades, student folders, and the other details required of them to bring things to a close before leaving for Winter Break (yes, I will be PC here — but we all still call this time off ~ Christmas Break).  As individual staff members were able to leave, they sought out others for final hugs, ‘have a great holiday’, and I ‘love you’s’.  Sandy Hook has a long way to go before their healing can begin.  Our campus realized we had areas of dysfunction and a need for our own healing without anyone saying a word.

Out of tragedy, that healing has begun and hopefully will continue when we begin the new semester in January and 2013 begins.  During our time off, I will be reflecting on many things, many people, and many changes that have begun and will hopefully continue to bring our staff closer and create a healing of our own.  As I tell people all the time, change happens with ‘baby steps’.

My parting thoughts … Never forget those precious 26 lives that were lost during an unbelievable tragedy.  My constant prayer…is that something like Sandy Hook will never happen again to American citizens.

Brightest Blessings for the Holidays as each of you celebrate with your own individual and personal traditions. Peace and Love to all!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So much has changed in a year for me personally.  I am now retired and loving every minute of being able to do what I want when I want.  I am writing more, posting two different blogs every day and sometimes a third when the mood strikes me.

What has not changed is the fact that mass shootings continued this year and nearly 1000 children between the ages of 2-12 have been killed … some by accident, some by murder, some by suicide, but even one death by easy access to a gun is one too many.



Copyright © 2013 Annie 
Always…I wish you peace, joy and happiness, but most of all I wish you Love.
As Ever, Annie
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    My monthly musings for December.

    Archives

    December 2013

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.