Phoebe made it through her church Christmas program this morning.
After another bit of stagefright as I escorted her to her Sunday School classroom -- that included holding on to my leg like her life depended on it and begging me to stay -- another mother helped her with her angel costume and diverted her attention. ... I was able to slip out of sight peacefully, and the next time Kates and I caught her big brown eyes, Phoebe was dressed in a piece of white fabric with a circle of gold-colored garland attached to her head and stretching her body as far as she could to wave to us from across the sanctuary, grinning widely.
After weeks of practicing "Away in a Manger" and "Silent Night" together at home, she sang every word. We could hear her voice loud and clear. And it was wonderful.
The reminders of our children's innocence and the senseless violence in Newtown Friday were spread throughout this morning's worship. Through prayers, scriptures and the children's program.
And last night as Kates and I settled in our living room to watch "Saturday Night Live," the chills ran up and down our spines as the New York City Children’s Chorus performed the cold open. ... Well done, SNL. Well done ...
12.16.2012
12.15.2012
Numb for Newtown
I'm writing this today at our church as Phoebe rehearses with the dozens of other children for their Christmas program tomorrow.
Aside from the usual annoyances of Phoebe hanging all over me and refusing to put on her costume and Faye waking Kates and I much too early for a Saturday morning, it's been a good day so far. I grudgingly rolled out of bed about around 6 to rescue Faye and ended up cuddling with her on the couch; she went right back to sleep in my arms. The morning continued with Phoebe and I playing a game of hide and seek and us piling on Kates in our bed. Laughing and enjoying our time as a family.
And through it all, reminders of the awful tragedy in Newtown. Twenty children taken away from their parents. Seven more adults killed. Their lives changed forever. They'll never again experience the kind of morning I've had the privilege of having.
Yesterday was our winter commencement day at the university. I was settling into the press box of the arena around noon and preparing for the ceremony when I learned of the tragedy. I had logged onto Facebook -- because that's where we get all of our news these days, of course -- and saw a colleague's post ...
And then another post ...
So I logged onto Twitter to start putting the pieces together. A school shooting in Connecticut. The details were still somewhat sketchy, but my heart sunk deeper the more I read.
Words like awful, sick, evil, heartbreaking, shock, horror, unspeakable and unimaginable kept appearing. And so close to Christmas.
Within minutes, the arena was filling with joyous the family members and friends of our students, eager to watch the graduation ceremony. Traditionally, commencement day is one of my favorite days of the school year. But the news of the shooting changed my mindset completely. It was surreal. … In my mind, I compared the emotional toll it was taking on me to the emotions I felt amid the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
I kept thinking of Phoebe, and Kates, and their school, and how devastated I’d be if they were taken away from me so suddenly. … As morbid as it sounds, I’ve seen and experienced enough trauma in my news reporter career and beyond that the thought, “What if I never see them again?” passes through my mind every morning as we say our goodbyes and I see Kates and Phoebe off to school. Or when I leave Faye at the daycare. I always try to make sure I cherish those last giggles and never take anything for granted.
I had trouble paying close attention to the ceremony once it was underway, instead paying closer attention to the social media updates scrolling across the screen on my TweetDeck.
There were posts about President Obama tearing up during a news conference addressing the shooting …
And reports that the shooter first murdered his mother, a staff member at the school, before targeting the children …
And more social media reaction by friends and colleagues …
The commencement ceremony ended and I waited for the platform party and graduated to file out of the arena. Then I packed up by things and headed back to my office. I worked as fast as I could to draft our news release about the commencement ceremony, gather all of the related multimedia and uploaded it to our website, finally leaving my office around 6 last night.
As I pulled up our driveway and drove into the garage, another wave of emotion hit me, and I got the feeling I might break into a sob the moment I saw Kates and our girls sitting just inside the door. … I took a deep breath and kept my composure. When I stepped inside, Phoebe flashed me a huge grin, taking a break from her Disney Junior watching, and Kates was sitting on the couch with Faye.
Several minutes passed before Kates and I were could step into another room and acknowledge the tragedy outside of Phoebe’s earshot. Eventually we settled into our nightly routine of eating supper and getting the girls in bed.
Then, as Kates and I had the living room to ourselves, she asked about watching the news. Being the news junkie I am, I record the nightly news programs and watch them each night before going to bed. Last night, I had no interest in watching the television news coverage – simply because of television’s habit of sensationalizing these types of stories. There was still so much unknown, and I didn’t think I could take the speculation (Ken Tucker's commentary is dead-on … So is The Onion's, coming from a harsher point of view.)
But Kates insisted and we watched the NBC Nightly News broadcast.
At the end of the day, I have no profound opinions or observations of the shooting. And I won’t go off on a rant about gun control or treatment for the mentally ill. Like everyone else, I, too, am trying to come to grips with the whys and hows of yet another shooting spree taking innocent lives.
Aside from the usual annoyances of Phoebe hanging all over me and refusing to put on her costume and Faye waking Kates and I much too early for a Saturday morning, it's been a good day so far. I grudgingly rolled out of bed about around 6 to rescue Faye and ended up cuddling with her on the couch; she went right back to sleep in my arms. The morning continued with Phoebe and I playing a game of hide and seek and us piling on Kates in our bed. Laughing and enjoying our time as a family.
And through it all, reminders of the awful tragedy in Newtown. Twenty children taken away from their parents. Seven more adults killed. Their lives changed forever. They'll never again experience the kind of morning I've had the privilege of having.
Yesterday was our winter commencement day at the university. I was settling into the press box of the arena around noon and preparing for the ceremony when I learned of the tragedy. I had logged onto Facebook -- because that's where we get all of our news these days, of course -- and saw a colleague's post ...
As I just left a bell ringing for a student who was tragically taken 3 months ago today because of a senseless act of violence and read the horrific reports out of Connecticut, all I can say is "why?" Praying for comfort for so many people right now!She was referring to the bell ringing ceremony – a tradition carried out when one of our students passes – we had yesterday morning for the September death that is still affecting our little community.
And then another post ...
Following the news and I could throw up. Praying for all the families - I can't even imagine.What the heck is going on?
So I logged onto Twitter to start putting the pieces together. A school shooting in Connecticut. The details were still somewhat sketchy, but my heart sunk deeper the more I read.
Words like awful, sick, evil, heartbreaking, shock, horror, unspeakable and unimaginable kept appearing. And so close to Christmas.
Within minutes, the arena was filling with joyous the family members and friends of our students, eager to watch the graduation ceremony. Traditionally, commencement day is one of my favorite days of the school year. But the news of the shooting changed my mindset completely. It was surreal. … In my mind, I compared the emotional toll it was taking on me to the emotions I felt amid the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
I kept thinking of Phoebe, and Kates, and their school, and how devastated I’d be if they were taken away from me so suddenly. … As morbid as it sounds, I’ve seen and experienced enough trauma in my news reporter career and beyond that the thought, “What if I never see them again?” passes through my mind every morning as we say our goodbyes and I see Kates and Phoebe off to school. Or when I leave Faye at the daycare. I always try to make sure I cherish those last giggles and never take anything for granted.
I had trouble paying close attention to the ceremony once it was underway, instead paying closer attention to the social media updates scrolling across the screen on my TweetDeck.
There were posts about President Obama tearing up during a news conference addressing the shooting …
And reports that the shooter first murdered his mother, a staff member at the school, before targeting the children …
And more social media reaction by friends and colleagues …
The fact that someone wiped an entire classroom off this earth is sickening. We live in a cruel world. I'm going to hug my son a little tighter tonight, count my blessings and pray for those in painAbout midway through the commencement ceremony, Kates texted me with the news that Faye’s daycare called to report she wasn’t feeling well. Kates picked up the girls and took Faye to the doctor, where she was diagnosed with an ear infection. … The silver lining in that news was that it got Kates and I out of attending her school’s Christmas party last night. Given the day’s turn of events, suddenly the last thing I wanted to do was go to a Christmas party surrounded by elementary school teachers where a main topic of conversation was bound to be what occurred din Connecticut. I wanted nothing more than to be home with my family.
I feel physically ill right now trying to imagine my babies being taken from me. My heart breaks for all of the families in Connecticut.
It's supposed to be about cookies, milk, construction paper, and naps. Not being gunned down just for being there.
The commencement ceremony ended and I waited for the platform party and graduated to file out of the arena. Then I packed up by things and headed back to my office. I worked as fast as I could to draft our news release about the commencement ceremony, gather all of the related multimedia and uploaded it to our website, finally leaving my office around 6 last night.
As I pulled up our driveway and drove into the garage, another wave of emotion hit me, and I got the feeling I might break into a sob the moment I saw Kates and our girls sitting just inside the door. … I took a deep breath and kept my composure. When I stepped inside, Phoebe flashed me a huge grin, taking a break from her Disney Junior watching, and Kates was sitting on the couch with Faye.
Several minutes passed before Kates and I were could step into another room and acknowledge the tragedy outside of Phoebe’s earshot. Eventually we settled into our nightly routine of eating supper and getting the girls in bed.
Then, as Kates and I had the living room to ourselves, she asked about watching the news. Being the news junkie I am, I record the nightly news programs and watch them each night before going to bed. Last night, I had no interest in watching the television news coverage – simply because of television’s habit of sensationalizing these types of stories. There was still so much unknown, and I didn’t think I could take the speculation (Ken Tucker's commentary is dead-on … So is The Onion's, coming from a harsher point of view.)
But Kates insisted and we watched the NBC Nightly News broadcast.
At the end of the day, I have no profound opinions or observations of the shooting. And I won’t go off on a rant about gun control or treatment for the mentally ill. Like everyone else, I, too, am trying to come to grips with the whys and hows of yet another shooting spree taking innocent lives.
12.13.2012
Concert for the ages
Of course, I watched the 12-12-12 Concert last night.
All of the performances were great. The collaborations were were especially stellar all night long.
But my honors for the best performances go to Adam Sandler's comical "Sandy Screw Ya," Chris Martin and Michael Stipe teaming up on an acoustic of "Losing My Religion." ... And pretty much everything Pink Floyd's Roger Waters and The Who performed during their respective sets.
Rolling Stone has those performances and more in its Top 10.
The New York Times also produced a great live blog that echoed so many of my thoughts on the night ... Particularly the comment about Alicia Keys asking a few times too many for “cellphones in the air.” So awkward.
The only real downfall was the length of the show. The networks carrying the concert had listed as ending at 11 p.m. central time, but it was well over midnight before it closed down. I ended up falling asleep midway though Paul McCartney's concluding set (The Nirvana reunion with McCartney, by the way, with all of the buzz surrounding it on the interwebs yesterday, I considered a bust ...) and woke up several minutes later to see all the performers on the stage together to close down the show.
But I'm hardly complaining given the talent and history jamming all over that stage last night.
Update 12.19.2012
Here's a good read from The New York Times: The Music Is Timeless, but About the Rockers ... Yeah, Roger Daltrey's unbuttoned shirt made me a little sqeamish, too.
All of the performances were great. The collaborations were were especially stellar all night long.
But my honors for the best performances go to Adam Sandler's comical "Sandy Screw Ya," Chris Martin and Michael Stipe teaming up on an acoustic of "Losing My Religion." ... And pretty much everything Pink Floyd's Roger Waters and The Who performed during their respective sets.
Rolling Stone has those performances and more in its Top 10.
The New York Times also produced a great live blog that echoed so many of my thoughts on the night ... Particularly the comment about Alicia Keys asking a few times too many for “cellphones in the air.” So awkward.
The only real downfall was the length of the show. The networks carrying the concert had listed as ending at 11 p.m. central time, but it was well over midnight before it closed down. I ended up falling asleep midway though Paul McCartney's concluding set (The Nirvana reunion with McCartney, by the way, with all of the buzz surrounding it on the interwebs yesterday, I considered a bust ...) and woke up several minutes later to see all the performers on the stage together to close down the show.
But I'm hardly complaining given the talent and history jamming all over that stage last night.
Update 12.19.2012
Here's a good read from The New York Times: The Music Is Timeless, but About the Rockers ... Yeah, Roger Daltrey's unbuttoned shirt made me a little sqeamish, too.
12.12.2012
Christmas with Mumford and Sons
... I let out a loud, audible laugh when I saw that headline scroll across my TweetDeck this evening. Funniest Onion headline I've read in a long time.
I don't get the hype over Mumford and Sons. Most of their songs sound the same to me ... But I do really enjoy "I Will Wait."
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