On July 5th Son Two and his gal left the US and flew to Lisbon, then on to Barcelona, Pamplona, back to Barcelona and on to Paris. France. To coincide with the Bastille Day festivities. When I heard of their plan, I inwardly freaked out about them being in a big, already targeted, European city for a national celebration where likely every third person in the crowd was a terrorist. It is a testament to my recent therapy sessions that I kept my fears to myself and didn't completely bum out their plans by shouting out my own worries and warnings. I smiled and said, "How cool! That will be a wonderful experience!" Then I put it all out of my mind, as best I could.
I watched for the daily Facebook "photo dump" as they made their way from destination to destination. Sightseeing in Lisbon, going to a bull fight (I was so happy my son hated the bloody spectacle and left after the first bull was killed), watching (not participating) in the running of the bulls, visiting museums in Barcelona, eating and drinking and socializing with locals as well as Seattle area friends who were also in Europe at the same time, and then walking the canal in Paris, watching the Bastille Day parade, and taking in the fireworks at the Eiffel Tower.
Then, on Facebook I saw there had been a Bastille Day terrorist attack in France. My heart skipped a few beats, my breath caught in my throat. Almost simultaneously my phone rang. One of my BFFs called to see if I'd heard from my son. Another texted. Frantically looking at Facebook posts I realized in short order the attack was not in Paris. It was in Nice. 800 miles from Paris. Still....the horror of it, the madness. My son messaged me right away to assure me they were safe. Whew!
They flew out the next morning, as scheduled, from Paris to London then on to the U.S. I followed their route and breathed a bit easier when I knew they were over U.S. airspace and then on the ground and home. But that is a false sense of security isn't it? Our own gun violence can mean innocents are killed here as easily as anywhere. What has happened to our sense of safety in a world gone a bit mad?
I know this is really nothing new. History shows we have always been a violent race, that violence manifesting in a myriad of ways. Now we have smart phones that broadcast the news and videos almost instantly, and then over and over and over again, as if the same event keeps happening. It's all crazy and I can't dwell on it.
This moment, this moment all is well. I am sitting on my back deck, watching the approaching dusk, feeling a chill in the air, smelling salmon baking in the oven, hearing Hub pad around the house. All is well. Until it isn't. The world is a little mad. But so it has always been. Good people of compassion and love and optimism keep the balance. May each of us be one of those people. May our children always be safe.
At least, that's the view from here...©
Photo credit to my son!
"Good people of compassion and love and optimism keep the balance." How true that is and how hard it's getting to keep optimistic but we NEED/MUST to do it! There are too many people who want to jump on the violence as an excuse to feed their hate and bigotry. I see that happening in some of the blogs I follow. I see it on social media and it's a cycle that we can't allow to keep ramping up without challenge.
ReplyDeleteYou deserve to be very proud of yourself for not projecting your fears onto your son #2 as he traveled aboard. That must have been hard for a mother to do. No matter how old kids get, parents worry---It's a law of nature.
I get overwhelmed at times about all the violence, real and spoken. I've taken to feel some of the comments I see on social media are a form of violence as well. My reaction is certainly similar to facing a physical threat. I mostly have to stay away from those comments to keep my emotional balance.
DeleteYes, I did much better this time than years ago when Son-One told me he and two buddies were going to Rio. I immediately Googled the State Dept. site that warned against traveling there. I was a wreck and tried to talk him out of it. Of course he went and was fine. Gotta let 'em go.
Jean R's comments made my day! Being positive is such hard work - mentally, physically and emotionally. And of course we worry about our loved ones. I have been to 4/5 of the states, Canada, England-Wales, Dubai and Ethiopia. All were filled with people who worked hard, had huge differences with each other, remembered music and laughter and got angry. But, the only time(s) I have been terrified have been the times in my own country - and worst times in my own state. Yes, danger is everywhere and I could hardly breathe when my middle daughter went to Thailand and also went to spend a learning-internship by herself in Europe. My friend could hardly breathe the whole time her daughter was trekking China. We had Japanese exchange students whose father telephoned (with the help of an interpreter) often to be sure his daughter was fine.
ReplyDeleteWe love our family and our friends and we see violence through media and videos and films and TV and on and on. I don't understand the fascination for that violence - I know I avoid it and so does my husband - but there is also that other side - the reason we have our homes, our friends, our family.
And we are so fortunate, aren't we. Or, as I sometimes think, "so far - so good."
FROM AN EMAIL: You are incredible, Donna. I love listening, reading. learning... from you. You show me your vulnerability, so I look at mine.
ReplyDeleteI feel adventurous at times, but am apprehensive to travel too far out of the U.S. If we do go somewhere as a group, we can hang at poolside.
♡k