All of us were shocked by the tragedy of the Boston Marathon bombing. The news rapidly spread through social networks and became the major subject of discussion — and heartache – within families worldwide. I (April) heard about it 30 minutes before my children got home from school, and, initially, I wasn’t quite sure when (or how) I was going to talk about it with them. During our afternoon snack, however, my 13-year-old checked her Instagram feed and said, “What happened today? Everyone is posting images that say ‘Pray for Boston.’”
So then the conversation happened. I kept it simple, but I explained the facts, and then we had a brief but tender family discussion about tragedies, choices, life and death, fear, hope and purpose.
While horrifying and devastating, this tragedy isn’t the first I’ve had to discuss with my children, and it unfortunately won’t be the last, so today Saren and I thought it would be helpful to gather as deliberate mothers and help each other identify the best ways to help our families handle tragedy.