I turned 35 years old last month. Every birthday brings moments of quiet reflections of life gone by.

Musing over these moments brings different smells, sounds and sights to mind. Alarmingly, I remember seeing a Fallout Shelter sign in junior highschool. Now when I allow my mind to wander, I may go from ‘how to perform goblet squats’ to ‘what is the actual price of tea in China’, but I was surprised my mind was fixated on that image.

Then with the memory came another recent memory – at the beginning of the school year, my five year old daughter shared they learned what to do ‘in case of emergency’. It was later explained that her school proactively practices different scenarios to be better prepared in case they are in the midst of an active school shooting.

My five year old is learning how to run in a closet and remain quiet in case someone decides to open fire at the school.

My five year old in 2018 America has been taught to seek “Fallout Shelter” in her school.

Is she feeling the same feelings I felt? Or is she too young to understand? Is she desensitized to all of the violence plaguinging her world?

What about my mother – were those signs a perceived distant threat or real imminent fear she too had to face?

I am a very positive person, but the current state of our Nation brings waves of despair and hopelessness.

Although I feel faith [aka thoughts and prayers] without works is dead, I am still holding out hope for a better tomorrow and will continue to do everything I can to be a responsible citizen of this country.

May God truly bless us all …. from our lawmakers to our parents …. to make the best decisions for our children going forward.