Art and Talking and Choices

In the afterglow of their theatre class grand finale last week, they filled the vacant slot in their schedule by trying out an art class today. They both said that it was "fine"/"okay," but there "weren't opportunities to chat with the other kids," and the actual projects were "things that we could do at home."

However we do it, I know that art must be a part of our days. When we all sit together and work on something creative the spirit of our apartment seems to take yoga breaths. 

My grandma has been saturated by the media coverage of Friday's tragedy. As of now, I am still holding to my decision to not tell the kids about it. Whether or not his school was safe was actually always a concern for The Boy, so I'm not sure that any good could come from talking about this. If they had heard about it -- at school, or on the news -- I would definitely provide an opportunity to talk about it and explore feelings... But since they haven't heard, I've yet to feel impressed to discuss what happened, and in fact feel grateful that by being away from an institution I get to make that choice. Of course my perspective could change, but for now, I certainly don't feel like my cute grandma is better off for all the exposure she's had. She was very sweet and reminded me often on the phone to "keep them close... they are just babies."

I received an email from the JCC and think that it's very nice -- not only for this tragedy, but in regards to all sad things that occur in the world:

Dear Friends,  I write at a moment when there are no words.  But because we are community that stands together in these very difficult moments, some things should be said. An email cannot take the place of a hand, a shoulder, a person-to-person connection in a time of such pain and disbelief, but it can serve as a reminder to be there for one another and as a reassurance that the world that you live in is in fact bigger and better than the unspeakable actions of one individual whose action caused such loss and such pain. We hear things like "I cannot get my head around what had happened," and,  " I cannot even imagine such loss."  Indeed, we should not need to understand or come to terms with a world where these kinds of things happen.  We choose to continue to imagine, to create and to live in a world where neighbors care for neighbors in times of need, a world where people come together and share day-to-day joys and where hope triumphs over fear. So yes, we hold our children and those we love a bit tighter in these moments and we are reminded that life is fragile. We hear the stories of teachers who gave their own lives to protect the children in their care and we are reassured that most people are very good. We reaffirm our need to be part of a caring community and help heal the broken world in which we live. ... Please take a moment to look in the eyes of a neighbor, to say hi to the person on the treadmill next to you, to thank a teacher--- these are the moments that express the humanity in all of us and remind us that as we mourn for and with those we will never know, we are part of a world where hope is possible and goodness can prevail. May the memories of those who died in Newtown, Connecticut on Friday be for a blessing. Joy Rabbi Joy Levitt