I sit at my desk stunned and saddened. My heart aching for a family I do not know and for our community’s high school kids who have been through so much. Losing someone so young is unfair. It’s a tragedy. The Mount Si community is back in a place it wishes it wasn’t, a place that is all too familiar. Its students proving again their resiliency and compassion while facing adult situations. They are left asking more questions for which there are no clear answers; left holding onto each other – again.
The Mount Si High School staff and leadership have again wrapped their student body with comfort and support – for that I am thankful. As a mother I want to protect my children; keep them safe; shelter them from the world and its uncertainties. But I can’t. I send them to a place; their school – a place they love. I entrust them to a staff, the majority of whom I do not know. I am grateful on days like these that my daughters have somewhere they feel safe when heartache sets in – a place that steps in for me.
Mount Si Principal John Belcher said it best as we are all looking for answers. “Perhaps we shift our community focus to how we best support our kids, how we support each other in the community.”
Hold your kids close this weekend and in the days and weeks to come. They may seem so grown up, but they still need us. They can have tough exteriors and breaking hearts all at the same time. Individual families make up this wonderful community where we live. Each builds upon the other to create a foundation of strength. Families support families – in quiet respect and hugs of compassion. Community wouldn’t exist without it.
Comments
Sorry .. what happened?
Mount Si lost a student yesterday.
What happened specifically????
How did this happen?
The hearts of YL’s committee and leaders are broken. We’ve read the statistics and they are not favorable. It’s why out committee, leaders, donors and parents are so passionate about volunteering their time, energy, resources and prayers to grow YL in the valley. We’ve only just begun for high school and middle school is in the works. The staff at Mt Si has supported YL and we are very grateful. Even if it’s not Young Life, get involved with your community!