And.....it's only Wednesday.......

Like everyone else, I've found myself saddened, angry and fearful following the events that happened in Boston.   Yet, I am also in awe and grateful that amid the evil and destruction, good people emerge to care and uplift us all. 
Tragedies like what happened at the Boston Marathon stop us in our tracks and diminish the stresses and the issues we are dealing with in our own lives.   It's humbling for me to realize that although I find myself overwhelmed by things in my own life---my concerns and stresses are minute compared to what so many good, innocent people are dealing with.  
 I  find that these senseless acts of violence also heightens my fear for all of us.  It's not a good feeling to wonder when and if anther evil person (or persons) will dispense such acts again and again and again.   As the mother of a marathon runner who is preparing for a very large event in the coming months,  the Boston Marathon tragedy has hit home in a very personal way.   Although I know my son has his own concerns in the wake of the Boston events, I cannot help myself but want to forbid him from following his dream of running this particular event. In my heart, I want to do that.  In my head, I know that I can't forbid a 27 year old man from living the life he wants.  Even though I wish I could. 
 Then, I think about all the mothers and loved ones out there that worry for their children and their spouses and their friends and family every minute of each day---my dear friend whose son is a police officer in a very active area of the country, my niece whose fiance is a police officer in a crime ridden city and all those others who have loved ones who are always, always in harms way every day--serving their country or their community and protecting all of us.  How do they do it?
 It gives me pause to stop and realize that I can be selfish about my own cares.   Clearly,  I don't know the true  fear or pain and anguish on a very personal level.  It shames me and makes me count my blessings instead of my woes.  For I truly have been blessed with more joy than pain and more hope than despair. 
And, it reminds me that there is more good than bad in the world.  
These are the times when we are called to always be grateful for that.  
My goal is to always live with that thought.....no matter what is happening around me or in my own life.
In good times and in bad.