Please Take a Minute to Honor These Families This Holiday Season
By Elena Matyas
Jessica Rekos, Olivia Engel, Avielle Richman, Jesse Lewis, Grace Audrey McDonnell, Noah Pozner, Ana Marquez-Greene, Emilie Parker, Charlotte Bacon, Catherine Hubbard, Josephine Gay, Daniel Barden, James Mattioli, Caroline Previdi, Allison Wyatt, Dylan Hockley, Madeleine Hsu, Chase Kowalski, Jack Pinto, Benjamin Wheeler…
As I held my 10-day-old baby girl, the lives of these 20 beautiful children were eliminated in a horrific act of violence. I looked into Roxie’s captivating eyes and thought about how I would never survive life without her. Less than two weeks as a Mom, my heart had split imagining the pain endured by the parents of Sandy Hook Elementary children and their community at large.
I now endure that pain.
I can’t shake the eerie coincidence that Roxie drowned at the same age as these 1st grade victims, on a Friday at the same time of day. I now walk in the shoes of a parent who kissed my darling child goodbye one moment only to see life shattered in another.
March for Our Lives Rally in Los Angeles | Photo Doug Forbes
The world has moved on since December 14, 2012. The 24-hour news cycles churn. There have been 2,320 deaths from gun violence since Sandy Hook.
This holiday season, take a minute to honor these children as well as Anne Marie Murphy, Dawn Lafferty Hochsprung, Lauren Rousseau, Mary Sherlach, Rachel D'Avino and Victoria Soto, the teachers and administrators who also died at Sandy Hook. Let the parents & families of these victims know their children and love ones are not forgotten.
Hug your children tight.