The Boston Marathon

Luckily, my children are still a little young to be aware of the horrible awfulness that happened at this year's Boston Marathon. However, I was watching the news in horror and confusion (who would bomb a MARATHON, and why would doing so make sense, even in a sociopath's warped and twisted mind?) and Henry paused from his Legos and quietly watched the news coverage. He finally asked "What happened at that race? Were you going to run in it?" And while such an innocent question is incredibly flattering - the only way I'd qualify for the Boston Marathon would be if I were, like, driving a moped, not running - it made me realize how a little person's mind cannot wrap itself around such horror, and it grasps the only thing that matters in his world: the connection it would have to his life and his family. Henry's first thought was "Mommy runs" which was followed by "What would have happened if she was there?" The question stunned me, and of course I reassured him that under normal circumstances, bombs do not detonate at races. Under normal circumstances, we live in a place that is safe, happy, comfortable and calm. But someone disturbed that safety and calmness in Boston yesterday.

But at the same time, something was nagging at me. I wanted Henry to understand that there are many places on this Earth where one's safety cannot be taken for granted. I told Henry that there is a person who will board a bus in Israel with automatic weapons. I told Henry that there is a person in Pakistan who will drive into crowds with bombs loaded in his pickup's bed. I told Henry that families must walk miles and miles in Africa to simply get to an area safe enough to sit down without the immediate threat of warlords and tribal conflicts. And I told Henry that there is a person who will plant a backpack full of explosives in a crowded city street where many people are waiting to cheer on the runners they love.

By no means did I want to scare Henry, but I want my children to understand that there are parts of this Earth that are quite frightening. However, I also want them to understand that if we add up all the people in the world who want to hurt themselves or others, those people would fit into a tiny little town. If we add up all the people in the world who want to make the world a better, sunnier, safer and happier place, those people would fill the entire rest of the planet. There are so many more good people than bad people, and we cannot allow the population of a small town to ruin this great, giant planet.

I told Henry that when the bombs detonated in Boston, they injured lots and lots of people. But I then told Henry that the people who weren't injured looked around, and instead of running away, they helped the people around them. They carried strangers to safety. They pressed on wounds to stop blood loss.  As human beings, it is our responsibility to help fellow humans to the best of our ability. It is our responsibility to hold the door open for the person behind us, it is our duty to tell a bully to back off and leave someone alone, and it is most certainly our job to help someone in a crisis.

I believe - and I want my children to believe - that the vast majority of human beings are good, kind people. Maybe I'm just a ridiculous optimist, but that's what I believe. I believe that what one rotten, angry and sad person did in Boston yesterday cannot and will not ruin the joy, pride and accomplishment those runners felt as they neared the finish line in Boston. And then I assured Henry that, yes, I will continue running and someday - maybe, hopefully - qualify to run the prestigious marathon someday. And that if I do, I feel confident that it'll be safe, but if something did happen, I know that Henry would be the first person to help the person beside him.