by Ashley
I’ve experienced two school lockdowns in the past 2 weeks. One at the university where I work and one at my children’s school. Both completely terrifying. One resulted in the shooting death of a beloved professor. The other resulted in traumatized children.
Things like this…they put money and financial concerns into perspective.
For me – it started with a text from a mom friend,
“Do you know that the school is on lockdown?”
Thankfully, the kids’ school situation turned out to be nothing. A car was abandoned on school grounds with “suspicious items” visible in the front passenger seat and things got escalated – rumors of a suspicious person wandering the campus, etc.
However, before it was determined there was no imminent danger, there was chaos and fear and confusion. The initial “threat” was viewed as credible for over 2 hours. This was not a drill. Young kids were huddled into corners of classrooms, doors locked, lights off, and told to be silent as they waited for police to come and clear the building. I learned the difference between a “lockdown” and a “shelter in place.” Lockdown = lights off, don’t move, silent, locked door. Shelter in place = lights off, locked door, but you can move about and talk with each other. Its surreal that I even know this difference. That this is even a thing in our elementary schools.
Thankfully, there was no imminent danger and everyone was safe (physically). My own kids were very shaken up by the situation on a psychological level though.
Only a few days later…
The unthinkable happened. A disgruntled student, angry about a grade, came to campus to confront his professor. The original professor was away (out-of-town), but the student shot and killed the department head.
It was such a shock. Two back-to-back crises. Two very different endings. But both causing psychological damage to the surrounding community.
Things have been tough recently from a financial perspective.
There have been personal issues that have led to my ex and I going to court for child custody-related matters. This has been stressful and time-consuming, and expensive.
But at the end of the day – we are the lucky ones. We have our health and our lives and each other. That’s all that really matters. <3
Hi, I’m Ashley! Arizonan on paper, Texan at heart. Lover of running, blogging, and all things cheeeeese. Freshly 40, married mother of two, working in academia. Trying to finally (finally!) pay off that ridiculous 6-digit student loan debt!
That is scary and sad. Sorry you and the kids went through that.