Four years ago today, something horrible happened. Not to me or my family. Not even to someone that I know. But what happened has touched me in a profound way. And if this incident has affected me so strongly, I can't even begin to imagine how it has forever altered the life of the family at the center of the tragedy.
Before September 19, 2008, I had never heard of BT or his family, even though they lived just a few miles away from me. The only reason I heard about what happened to BT was because one of M's friends dated a guy who was friends with him.
When the unimaginable happens, news travels fast. In this case the news traveled from West Lafayette to the western suburbs of Chicago, and probably in a hundred other directions that were unknown to me.
When the unimaginable happens, life is changed in an instant. Hopes and dreams, plans for the future evaporate and emptiness, uncertainty, anger, and hopelessness take their place.
Nothing is guaranteed. We know that it's foolish to take life for granted, but years pass -- our children survive various illnesses, athletic injuries, foolish decisions involving cars or alcohol. And somehow, we let our guard down. We delude ourselves into believing that our children have reached a magical age when they will be "safe" from harm. We know that tragedy strikes other people's children, but, for the sake of our sanity, we convince ourselves that our children are immune.
Until the unimaginable happens.
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