I met the best Santa ever last night. As you can see, he was very, very enthusiastic about his job and even topped off his big red suit with sunglasses and a hand-carved cane!
Beyond all the excitement that goes along with holiday festivities, this week is different and for that reason, I’m cutting this post short. I went back and forth on whether I should even post today because everything including blogging seems superficial in comparison to the tragedy that took place in Newtown. Collectively, we wonder if things will ever be normal again. I think, at least to me, the answer is no.
I still remember when the Columbine massacre happened. I was in high school and that shift was very obvious — we were in that first wave of students that went from having no cameras in school to coming back to find them installed in every possible corner. Things never really went back to normal. Or at least to the way they were before.
The other shooting this week at Clackamas Town Center hit very close to home — it is where I do a lot of my shopping and it still feels very surreal.
I’m reminded tonight how lucky I am and to those people who did absolutely nothing wrong, those who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, my thoughts are with you.
I saw a tweet earlier today that said something along the lines of “Be kind to the people you meet. You never know what they’re going through.” Let’s remember that. Have a great weekend, everyone.
Chantelle says: 
