Out of Control

We’ll hold our kids closer, turn off the news when they’re near. Try to protect them. We put our guard up a little higher each time it happens. Young people senselessly murdered this week while at school in Blacksburg, Virginia.

A few weeks ago, Joanne Meier (opens in a new window) wondered about her young children’s sense of security when their school was threatened. My son is older. He’s beginning to think about college though it’s still a ways away. And he feels threatened, too. Does it ever stop?

How can we help our children understand what we as adults can’t grasp?

I remember the bright day in September that forever changed us and the world. My son scoured the house until he found three picture books that he’d glommed onto when he was much younger. He’d grown beyond these books, but in each of them, the reader was in control of the out-of-control in the form of a wicked genie, (opens in a new window) a big green monster, (opens in a new window) and an amorphous Willy Nilly Man. (opens in a new window)

Maybe being in charge of a 32 page book provided the comfort needed when faced with the unfathomable. And maybe that’s all adults can provide children. But maybe that’s the strength of books.