September is upon us, and for moms everywhere this means that school is about to start. I have been busy getting my children ready for school, and they go back in just a few days. It is that sweet moment when I think that two of my three children will be out of the house for the whole day. I have been packing backpacks, labeling all of their items, and trying to figure out what I can pack in their lunches. If there is one thing I am not thinking about it is the thought of them getting attacked at school.
I am not thinking about buying them a bulletproof backpack, I am not thinking of a stranger coming into their school and opening fire, and I am not worried about not seeing them at the end of the school day. Why? I am not thinking of all of these things because I am Canadian.
While I am not saying we are without worry or crime (even gun violence), school shootings are not something that is on our radar, because it just doesn't happen here.
In all the years of me being in school, and me having children, I can remember one "incident" that was somewhat similar. I was in high school, we were put on lockdown and the reports as that the student had a box of guns on the school roof. It turned out that it has a prank from a student who desperately needed some mental health support.
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It doesn't happen here anywhere near the extent it happens in the US, and while I could spend the time talking about gun control, or my opinions on American politics, I am not going to.
I want to talk about how I can empathize with the moms in the US, but I also can not wrap my head around how they send their children to school every day.
My thoughts follow the same, predictable pattern that everyone else's does. We hear of a school shooting, time goes on, we forget about it, and then another one happens. The whole cycle starts all over again, but the most recent tragedy in Uvalde, Texas, really touched me, and made me scared.
When you send your child off to school, and have to worry that you are not going to see them at the end of the day. My heart is heavy at the thought of this, and I realized that I am privileged.
I wasn't even aware that I had this privilege until recently. That being able to send my children off to school, knowing that I am going to see them again is a privilege, and one I don't take lightly. I don't have to worry about buying a bulletproof backpack, and I am upset that those even need to exist.
I recently came across a viral video of a mom who was going over what her son needs to do if there is a person in his school with a gun. I cannot imagine having to have this conversation with my child. I make sure to tell them what to do about peer pressure, or if they encounter a bully, but never what to do if they hear gun shots in the classroom across the hall. I cannot imagine that conversation.
I also realized how important the teachers are in my child's life, and I remember shortly after Uvalde happened, I broke down in front of my daughter's kindergarten teacher. The shooting had me thinking about what would happen if I was in that situation, and I know that my child's teacher would be like so many and throw herself in front of her students to save their lives. That this is how important the teachers are in our lives, and how they are often taken for granted.
As this school year starts, I am still comfortable in sending my children to school, but my heart is still with all the moms who do not feel this way. To be fearful every day when you send your child to school that this is going to be the day you get the call that something has happened. I don't know what the solution is, I don't know what the answer is, or what can be done to change this (other than the obvious), so I guess that my hope is to let other mother's know that Canadian moms have your back. We feel your pain, we understand your struggle, and we wish that it was not this way for you.