If I go about my day.
And randomly stop.
And try to imagine that 49 people right next to me would be shot and killed.
I cannot imagine it.
My brain won’t allow me to look at my family, friends, coworkers-and imagine something so ……unimaginable.
If I go about my day.
And randomly stop.
And try to imagine the impact of the 49 people standing closest to me have on this world.
I cannot imagine it. The ripples? How far reaching do all of these lives reach. How many people think of them, depend on them, laugh with them, cry with them, pray with them, eat meals with them, make plans for life with them. How many life moments exist that I have no way of even trying to encapsulate….
My brain isn’t capable of accepting that these ripples……just stop.
If I go about my day.
And randomly stop.
And try to imagine the birth of the 49 people standing closest to me.
I can picture the beginning. The excitement of life. 49 beginnings. Love brought them into this world. Love created them. 49 little babies. Loved and nurtured by their world. I can see so many different stories standing there in 49 different shapes.
If I go about my day.
And randomly stop.
I will find myself, sadly, counting the number of people around me.
Thinking of 49.
The Chatter Blog 
Brilliant Colleen.
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Thank you Paul.
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49 branches on family trees cut off.
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I can’t grasp this. I just can’t.
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It truly is unimaginable, Colleen! It’s one of those time that you think, “Surely, this couldn’t happen to me.” But the sad truth is, it surely can! 49 beautiful lives were taken for a reason that will never make sense to me nor will I allow it to. The ripple effect of this unspeakable crime is incredibly huge.
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It just doesn’t register in my mind as something that ‘can’ happen. I mean, someone has to actually think up this atrocity and carry it out. How? Why? Like you, I will never understand it. Ever.
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So very sad and I would have troubles to imagine something like this too, Colleen.
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</3
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It beggars belief. Why are there people like that? You put it so well, Colleen
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Why? I can’t think like this so I don’t know. I can’t believe there is a reason. I can’t.
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😥
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</3
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Heartbreaking. So difficult to think about. All those brokenhearted families left behind.
❤ ❤ ❤ Well said, Colleen.
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There is no comprehension of this Tess.
Thank you.
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Heartbreaking, infuriating … hard to find joy these days.
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All of what you said….
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Thank you for the reflective pause, Colleen.
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You’re welcome Eric.
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it is unfathomable.
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Completely.
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Brilliant post Colleen !!! I too am going about my day with random pauses that remind me of the loss, the unbearable thought of losing someone I love!!! I shudder with fear as I imagine it can happen to anyone, including myself! Will I ever be able to gather the courage to live freely?!
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I hope you gather that courage.
This is beyond my ability to understand. ANd I have no desire to do so.
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It is something we cannot imagine. So touching Colleen
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Thank you Lynz. ANd no, we cannot.
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It really is unimaginable. It’s important to spend some time thinking about lives lost, no matter how terrible. I can’t imagine NOT being affected, but it does me good to come here and have you acknowledge the victims. I’ve been surprised that other than what I hear on the radio or see on television, people aren’t talking about it. Painful events aren’t always easily discussed. I appreciate you, Colleen.
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After I wrote this I found Anderson Cooper’s video where he named all of the victims and if they had information, shared a bit about them. I was so moved by that.
49 people. Gone. Just gone.
And thank you Debra, just…thank you.
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I’m going to look for Anderson Cooper’s tribute, Colleen. He can be so sensitive and I always feel an affinity with him somehow. ox
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Here Debra, I love him the more I see him (which isn’t a lot because I don’t watch much TV).
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Beautiful post but what a tragedy that it had to be written. 😦
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Thank you LaurelWolfelives. I would be thrilled if these kind of posts were never given a chance to be written again.
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That would be wonderful, wouldn’t it?
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Indeed……
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Lovely tribute.
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Thank you Wendy.
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Mothers, Fathers, Daughters, Sons, Grandmothers, Grandfathers, Granddaughters, Grandsons, Sisters, Brothers, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Inlays, Friends, Neighbors – all gone. Now those of us left just keep arguing about whether or not the average citizen needs to be able to buy the same weapons used by our military. And, the debate goes on while nothing changes. Good post as I pray for peace here in the US.
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I pray with you Judy…..
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Reblogged this on Whats Next and commented:
So well said…
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Thank you Roos Ruse 🙂
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Great post! As I was praying for the 49 and the 53 and the many more touched by this tragedy, I received a message from a former student of mine (who calls me Mom). He said, “I went to high school with a murderer.” For the first time in my life, I had no words.
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That, brings about a reality none of us should have to wrap our heads around. Such horror.
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Hard to imagine….
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I still cant….
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Just so sad and difficult to imagine. Well expressed
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Thank you Jacqueline, for reading and commenting.
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This is heart wrenching yet so beautifully written. I cried through most of it. Thank you for putting into words what so many of us are feeling. ❤
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You’re welcome. It’s too much for me to even comprehend, truthfully. I can’t grasp the concept of destroying people because I don’t “like” them or “agree” with them.
Thank you for sharing your feelings.
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