SLICE OF LIFE

My boys, 21 and 22, are almost grown.

And I'm finding it really, really hard to parent them right now.

The world we are living in is a really scary place.
 I fear for my chocolate skinned son every time they go out the front door.
I do not know what to say to my boys.
I do not know what they should
say or do
if they are going about their ordinary
every day business
picking up loaf of bread
or a gallon of milk
at the grocery store,
putting gas in their cars
or walking across the parking lot
on their way to class
and someone says something.
Ignore.
Keep your head down.
Walk away.
Don't make eye contact.
Get to a safe place
and call 911.
I raised them to be men
of character and integrity
I do not want them to live in fear.
And yet the world is a really scary place.

I worry about the choices they make.

All day today I have been thinking
about a lady named Gwenevere.
She's the mother
of the Chattanooga school bus driver
that crashed and killed
five children yesterday.
Early reports indicate
that he was driving too fast.
I could be Gwenevere.
My boys drive fast.
Run yellow lights.
Make poor decisions.
Every day,
I pray that their decisions
won't cause harm
to themselves
or others.
won't have
permanent ramifications.

And I have been thinking
about another mom.
Anonymous right now.
Her son was killed last night
in a stabbing
at an apartment complex in a college town
about an hour north of Denver.
A couple was fighting.
A neighbor stepped in to help.
And now he's dead.
I want my strapping strong sons
 to be up standers
to step in if someone needs help

But I don't want them dead.

My boys are almost grown
And yet I'm finding it really, really hard
to parent them right now.

The world is a really scary place.