by Maggie Downs posted in Parenting

It?s one of those days again. I wake up to another tragedy on the news, scroll through the angry tweets, and the world suddenly feels sharper. Less logical. More random and frightening.
I grope around, trying to make sense of it. But nothing about this situation makes sense, does it" That?s why people shake their heads after a mass shooting and call it a ?senseless tragedy,? as if some kind of sensible tragedy exists.
So I do the only thing I can. I become very small, hyper-focused on my tiny sliver of the world. I throw myself into my work. I pack a healthy lunch. I drive my child to daycare and try to explain why ?Why did the chicken cross the road"? is funny. Maybe it doesn?t change the world in a broader context, but it gives me a sense of control. This morning is my son's third day in a new classroom at preschool. Everest just made the transition from the Gecko class to Hummingbird, and he remains nervous and uncomfortable in his new environment. The other Hummingbirds are bigger. The classroom is noisy and chaotic. He doesn?t feel like there?s a place for him in this world.
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