I call them children, because they are your children. You may have carried them within your body for nine months, on your hip for several years, or walked beside them through life when their biological mothers couldn’t. You knew these men and women like no other person could and loved them unconditionally. In their last moments of life, they may have reached out to you wanting your comfort, because no one could comfort them in their time of fear like their mothers.
Mothers are nurturers. You are the ones that kiss the pain of a skinned knee away. You are the ones that argued for your child to be accepted as who they are. You are the ones who have stayed up late nights wondering if they were OK when you put them to bed with a fever. Mothers are the givers of the best hugs, and the ones who can tell all of your hurts by hearing a simple “hello” when you answer the phone.
In this tragic time, I look at you and wonder what you must be going through in these days, hours, minutes and seconds of this horrific act that took your babies away. There are people on social media that are saying terrible things about your children, but I hope that you don’t see it. I hope your hearts are inundated with the love, support, and prayers that are coming from around the world. I hope that you can find some solace in the togetherness of the millions that are rallying around you and your lost children.
The man who committed this act does not deserve for his name to be known. Instead, we need to only focus on the names of your children. It was you who suffered one of the greatest losses a parent could ever face, and it’s your children’s names that need to be shared repeatedly and remembered. Now that all of the names have been released and confirmed, it is you that our hearts break for as you complete your final act of parenting for the child you lost. They deserve to have a voice, and their voices deserve to be heard, and it is us who must now speak for them.
To the people that were in the night club at the time and had to witness your fellow community members being harmed, I hope that you find peace and continue to be your authentic selves. An act such as this is designed to create fear and pain. Your experience is not lost on those watching these events unfold.
For all the mother’s still awaiting news on your child’s condition, and for those that received news of the unimaginable, I wish that our prayers and thoughts were enough to abate the fear and pain you and your family must be feeling. I know there needs to be action, but what I don’t know is what action needs to be taken. So for now, while the world grieves with the city of Orlando, and the families directly affected by this tragedy, know that we understand you are grieving a loss that no parent should ever have to face. As one mother to many, my heart hurts for you.
Karlie is the person behind the blog Stop Yelling at Me...please! She enjoys writing about life, current events and of course, parenting. Karlie is a mother of three and the wife of one supportive husband that is not being held against his will, really. She is also a contributing writer on the Today Parenting Team. You can check out more of her work at stopyelllingatmeplease.blogspot.com
***A version of this post was previously published on stopyellingatmeplease.blogspot.com
Gay pride flag flying alongside American flag