Sad Day…

Today was a hard day. Last night we heard that a little boy named Johnny had been killed by two dogs in our city Saturday night. I was shocked and felt so bad for all the people involved. Such a senseless tragedy.

Then this morning my mom called me and told me she heard that Johnny went to Melissa’s school. Jack got Melissa’s class picture, and we discovered Johnny was in Melissa’s class. I didn’t realize how close to home this happened. And now I had to tell Melissa that one of her classmates died…

How do you explain such a thing? I had no clue.. and I had only minutes to come up with how I was going to tell her. So, I was as gentle as I could be while telling her what happened. At first I just explained that he had died… but her next question was how? It was really hard for me to tell her how. Perhaps because I’m such a dog-lover and we have a dog… but I told her the truth. I knew she’d hear all about it at school.

She cried. She said he was really nice, and funny because he told a lot of jokes and did funny things. I decided I’d go to school with her, knowing it was going to be a hard day for everyone there.

And I was right. My first look at Melissa’s teacher and I almost broke down. I could tell she’d been crying. She’s such a sweet lady, who cares a lot about her kids. She told me in private that it took her all morning to compose herself for class.

There was a crisis team and counselors there to help the kids (and the teachers and us parents if we needed) deal with it. There were several parents there with their kids. Johnny’s best friend’s mom was there with him and he cried a lot and it just broke my heart.

They took it easy today. They had lots of time to share stories about Johnny and just talk. We drew pictures and made cards for the family. Melissa made a card for Johnny’s mom and his two sisters (who also go to her school). After that they tried to get back to normal a bit… it was hard though. Melissa and I left early to pick up the boy’s from my sister’s.

Melissa did well at school. Having me there was comforting for her. She stayed close to my side or on my lap during story/sharing times. She was quiet most of the day, and you know how she keeps things inside. She’ll express more of her feelings when she’s ready. That’s just how she is.

Please say a prayer for this family. I can’t even begin to fathom what they are going through. Here’s the stories in some of our local newspapers and tv stations online:

KOIN Channel 6 (includes a picture of Johnny)
Dog Maul: Mother, Father Mourn Loss Of Young Son
Front Page of the Oregonian
The Columbian