A Big Sigh of Relief

I want the villains in my kids' lives to be Swiper the Fox and The Joker. I want them to be afraid of the dark, and nervous about monsters under their beds. I don't want them to grow up worrying about terrorists in this world; or in this country... or in their home town. Last week here in Watertown, MA was a lot to stomach - it was stressful and nerve-wracking to say the least.

Starting on Monday, Jennie and Justin went into Boston to watch the marathon. Jennie was so excited to take the subway! They ventured to the Public Garden to see the swan boats and the "Make Way for Ducklings" statues. She got to ride on the merry-go-round in the Common. They went to see the finish line of the marathon, and walk down Newbury Street. After watching some runners go through Kenmore Square, they wandered around Fenway. Jennie even picked out a new Sox hat - pink camo, of course. The crowning point of the day was next - Daddy was taking Jennie up to the top of a "big building" to see the whole city. However, on their way to the Pru, the runners were stopped and log jamming about where they made it to. Dozens of emergency vehicles were swarming towards the finish line. My two loves where 3 blocks away from the bombing - and I am still thanking God every day that they were not closer.

For the sake of my nerves, I was extremely fortunate that while this happened, I was not at home. Me and Jacob were at the playground, and Justin managed to get a phone call through to me right away to ask me if I knew what was going on. So, I didn't know what was going on - but I knew they were OK. Cell service was totally jammed, and communication was impossible for hours after that first call, but our friend Hector kept them safe at his place in Kenmore Square until I could finally get into the city and collect them. Jennie knew something was up - Daddy had to explain a little about the stopped runners, the emergency vehicles, why the big buildings were "closed," and that the trains were "shut down" and they couldn't get home yet. What an impossible task - answering a child's questions about a terrible incident, in a way they can understand, with out frightening them to death, and without lying. Jacob totally knew I was stressed at home - he kept giving me hugs and asking for tickles. It is just amazing how kids can sense your feelings. Thankfully, he didn't have any questions for me at home except, "Nack?" (for a snack) and "Nuggle?" (for his blankie).

Then, on Wednesday, we had a small electrical fire in our apartment! I walked in to the apartment after a lunch date, and it was filled with smoke. I called the fire department and much to my children's enjoyment, 4 fire trucks, an ambulance, and a police car all rolled onto Forest Street to help us out. Jacob could hardly contain his excitement. He was wiggling and moving his feet in place and pointing, yelling, "FIRE TRUCK! FIRE TRUCK!" One of the cops on site said hello to him, and Jake just yelled, "FIRE TRUCK!" The cop laughed and said, "So he's not into the police yet, huh?"

They found a melted extension cord in Jennie's room that burned a little of the wall and took out a few other cords with it. Luckily nothing else caught fire, but the clean up took many many hours. Jennie's whole room was covered in a thin layer of soot. Thank God (again!) that Jake and Jennie were not in there at the time - and that nothing else caught fire. Poor Jennie kept asking for a few days if her room was going to catch on fire again.

Jake was happy to have a tub all to himself on Friday night!

Then, the ultimate in stressors of the week - the shoot out, man hunt, and subsequent capture of a terrorist in our hometown.... less than 2 miles from our house. We are so thankful that Jennie had a sleep over on Thursday night at Grammie and Papa Mosca's house. They kept her safe, and more importantly, oblivious to what was going on at home. Justin, Jacob, and I were bunkered down in our home (no driving or leaving our home was allowed all day). Jacob knew something was up - he could (again) sense our stress. He also knew he wanted OUT of the house, haha. He kept going over to the front door and banging on it yelling, "Out, Mommy, OUT!" It was a crappy feeling being stuck inside the house - like being in a tent camping out in the woods. You feel enclosed, but not really safe from what was "out there."

But, in the end, they caught him. I continue to pray and thank God that my family is safe, and that my children are young enough to not really know what was going on. I want them to have more time believing that their safety is 100% guaranteed by Mom and Dad - I don't want them to know that there are people that we may not be able to protect them from. They don't need to know about the scum out there... not yet. All they need to know is that last week in their home town of Watertown, there were more good guys than bad guys. I hope that throughout their whole lives, my children only experience everything the "good guys" do. And I hope for my own sanity that no more bad guys decide to hunker down in my own town...