Cheryl and I have been in stunned silence since last Monday. I have tried many times to express how I feel; I just haven't found the words. Every time I try to form one thought about it, 10 more rush in. Some of them feel so tremendously selfish I chase them away. Some of them are so angry they scare me.
Life does go on. Aiden helps keep a lot of that in perspective (This week he has mastered Blue, Red, Yellow, Green, and Purple both as words and concepts. He can say all but purple, and his pronunciation of yellow makes me smile every time. I'm told that is unusual for a 18 month old.
Last fall Cheryl and Aiden were out of town and Aiden got Very sick. The E.R. Scared him (shit it scares me). One of the doctors handed him a cheesy stuffed bear with features hand drawn on it. Aiden clung to that little bear the whole time he was there. He still loves that bear, and I am very thankful to the volunteers who made it, and gave it to the hospital for them to give to Aiden. Cheryl had the wonderful idea that this might help other kids as well.
There are over a thousand evacuees here locally. They arrived Monday evening. Tuesday I took a long lunch, went to Toys R Us. Worked out a modest discount with the manager and bought 2 armloads of stuffed animals (Bears mostly, some cats) and brought them to the drop off point for the local evacuees. I realize Stuffed animals aren't going to save the world, but it may give a child something to hold on to and make them feal just a little more secure.
-Jason
