This morning has been hard. It has been one year since the attack happened in Israel and war is still raging in the Middle East. Hostages are still being held. Innocent people are still dying on both sides. There is no end in sight.
Yesterday my kids went to Hebrew school and the school had a conversation about the war. It makes me sad to think about what my kids have to learn as they grow up. I know that we can't pretend the world is fine and everyone always gets along. But it can be hard to think that my kids' brains have to process so much: the war in Ukraine, the war in Israel, the vitriol from the right against transgender people, George Floyd and racism, COVID/mask wars, xenophobia and the rhetoric against immigrants, etc.
I wonder if, when my kids are 25 or 30 years old, if I'll still feel the need to protect my kids from the cruelty happening in this world. I wonder if my parents feel that way about me. Stress and adversity are parts of life. We all have to experience them in order to grow and mature and cope with life's ups and downs. Still, it's hard to not be able to fix -- or even explain -- the cruelty in this world as my kids enter it.
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I've been sitting here trying to think how to wrap up this entry and I don't really have a nice silver lining. It is what it is. Sometimes I just have to be OK not being OK for a little while.
