We need a little magic

I want my children to grow up in a world where there is still magic. In a world where there is still good.  I want them to believe in the power of their imaginations. I want them to see the good in life. I do everything that I can to protect them from the harsh realities of life, while not allowing them to be completely naive.

So my youngest still believes in the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, and Santa Clause. He still believes in all people being equal. My kids see color differently than I ever would have imagined. I still remember the first time my son realized that people aren't one size fits all. We were in the middle of the store and he says "Mommy, why is that man chocolate?" I wanted to cry at his innocence. It was so sweet, so endearing. The gentleman heard him and looked at me to see how I was going to respond. I simply told my son "Well, you know how you love vanilla ice cream, but it goes so much better with chocolate? Well, that's how people are. There are thousands of flavors out there, and if we only had one, it would be dull and boring, so we have many and we love them all" That old man asked me if he could give me a hug. He had just had someone else recently say something extremely derogatory to him about his race and he said that my son's question and my response restored his faith in humanity.

Right now, I need my faith in humanity restored. There is so much going wrong in our country right now. There's so much hurt, anger and bitterness. We are being quick to judge, to lash out, to accuse. We're driven by a basic human instinct to place blame.

It saddens me. While my heart is broken by the way things are going, by the shootings, the bombings, the babies being killed, it is being ripped apart by our reaction to it.

Instead of doing everything that we can to help those affected by the tragedies, we are sitting in our safe homes, condemning someone who has yet to go to trial. We are negating all decent human emotion and sticking to the one that makes us feel empowered. We're holding on to anger. To hate.

What happened is horrifying. Every innocent life lost is a tragedy. But every loss is also a chance for us to show how good we can truly be. Do you think that the hatred is helping the families that are experiencing loss? I don't.

I believe that our help, our sympathy for them will be what truly helps them. Fundraising, donating blood, giving clothes, toys, furniture, etc to those affected by all of these tragedies would be a way to truly help the victims of ALL of these crisis that we are facing right now.

I've lost a child. Maybe not in the way that any of these families have, but I have lost a child. Hatred and anger would not have helped. Someone showing kindness would have. Why are we not sending cards? Why are we not sending flowers? Why are we not rallying together to raise money for the families for funerals, or medical expenses? What about their living expenses?

I know that when I lost my daughter, work was the last thing on my mind. Paying the bills didn't matter. But I also know that creditors and bill collectors don't care about your tragedies. They want their money. So why are we not all working towards that? Towards helping these people keep what little they have?

Between the bombings, the fertilizer plant exploding, the shootings, the stabbings, the robberies, etc, why are we sitting on our asses judging? We could be doing so much more. We could be showing these families the magical power of coming together. We could show each of these families that their loved ones mattered. Not by raising our voices in anger. But in putting our hearts out there. By using our fear to do some good.

I'm not able to do much, but I am going to help. So for today, I'm going through our clothes and our cabinets and I am giving what I can. I'd love to donate blood, but I am unable to because of my medical history. So I'm doing what I can to be there for those families. It's not much, but it's not hate. It's a small act of kindness and of love.

Hate doesn't heal. But love? Love has the power to be magical. To heal broken hearts and broken homes. To provide peace in a chaotic and crisis situation.

I can't change the world. But my children and I can make a difference in at least one life. So that's what we're going to do. Instead of hate, we're going to love. Instead of condemnation, we're going to believe in our country and in our justice system. We're going to believe that sometimes, the good guys get it right. We're going to help. Not hurt. Not hinder.

We are going to do everything that we can to help those suffering to heal.

Because we all have a little bit of magic in us. We are choosing to share ours with those who may not be able to find theirs right now. Please, please, share yours.