Fighting the Terrorists
I'm feeling pretty good today. I was drinking my coffee and eating breakfast at 7:30. The boys were eating breakfast in the kitchen. The news was on in the background. A story about a missing teenager was introduced. A young woman has been missing for a few days. They revealed that she had been abused, on many occasions, by her mother. They described the abuse, which included beating and throwing her down the basement stairs and locking her in.
My seven year old son, Soren, immediately got up from the table and moved closer to the TV. "Did you hear that, Mom?! Someone's mom beat her until she bled and threw her down the stairs! Why would she do that? That's not what moms should do!! Moms should protect their children and love them! They should never hurt their children!!"
I put my phone down. I was in the middle of a political discussion with a facebook friend. That was no longer important. My son's reaction to the news was crucial. I said, "You're right. Moms and dads should protect their children and never hurt them. This story is very upsetting. I'm sorry you had to see it. What do you think about it?"
"I just can't believe it. It's so sad. I'm very angry with that mom! I want to punch her in the face!"
"Yes. I understand how you feel. When I see parents hurting their children, I get very angry, too." He wiped his eyes, in the way that boys do when they don't want to cry.
"Soren, I would never hurt you. Dad would never hurt you."
"I know that. That mom needs to go to jail."
"Yes. She does. That would be the right thing. I hope they find the young woman soon. I hope she's okay."
"But, where will she live if they find her? She can't live with her mom! Where will she go?"
"I don't know. There are systems in place that will make sure she never has to live with her mom. Hopefully there are kind relatives she could live with, but if there aren't, the state can find a safe place for her to live."
"That's good. So, what about terrorists?"
The news had moved on to the current situation in London. A man killed four people yesterday and tried to kill a police officer, outside of Parliament. I said, "Well, terrorism is a very difficult thing. The man who did that yesterday was stopped. He was shot before he could hurt anyone else. So, that's good. There will be investigations about why he did what he did. The military people in the UK will handle it."
"But, the military has been trying to fight the terrorists for a long time. They aren't stopping them. I'm going to stop them someday. I'm going to create a plan and I'll get all the terrorists."
I could have said, "Oh, you don't need to worry about it. The grownups will take care of it." That would have been a lie. The grownups haven't taken care of this problem. I told Soren what I know about how we've tried to fight terrorism. I told him how it made me feel when the World Trade Center was attacked on September 11, 16 years ago. I told him about the person in our family who was in the building and was able to get out and even rescue a pregnant lady who couldn't make it down the stairs.
He listened, eyes wide. I explained what his Granddad told me that day. I was living in Columbus, Ohio and working near the capitol building. When I got home, I turned on the TV and watched those planes hit the towers over and over again. I cried. I worried. I called my parents. My dad said, "Turn off your TV. Go to sleep. Get up tomorrow and go to work. Don't let them win. If we live in fear and stop doing what we need to do, then the terrorists have won. If we continue to live our lives, go to our jobs and love our families, the terrorists lose. I love you. Everyone we know is okay. Get some sleep."
Soren listened. He agreed, that Granddad said the right things, but he wasn't ready to give up on his plan. He outlined all of his ideas about tracking the terrorists and making them 'defenseless' so that he could take them down. I listened. I didn't say that he couldn't do it. I told him that he should write it all down. I told him I will help him learn about everything our military has done to fight terrorism, so that he will know what has already been tried. I told him that I will help him write about it, learn about it and study military strategy. He seemed content.
This is what it means to love my Soren. Kieran also jumped into the conversation and offered to assist his brother in fighting the terrorists. Kieran said he wants to create a Paradise world. I love that. I said that we would all help Soren and Kieran. This is a worthy endeavor. They are not crazy or childish for wanting to do what even the smartests adults haven't been able to do. They're brilliant and full of hope.
"Boys, these are big goals. It might take you your entire life to accomplish them. You will need help. You will need resources. I will help you in any way that I can. You have my support."
Soren relaxed. "Thank you, Mom. I'm going to do it. I don't care how long it takes. I'm going to save the world."
And, it's only 8:44 AM. We're listening to music now. I'm writing and trying to focus on all the positive things we're going to learn about today. My pain meds are kicking in and I might need a nap. That's okay. I feel like the most important things have already been accomplished. What's on your agenda? Get to work!
My seven year old son, Soren, immediately got up from the table and moved closer to the TV. "Did you hear that, Mom?! Someone's mom beat her until she bled and threw her down the stairs! Why would she do that? That's not what moms should do!! Moms should protect their children and love them! They should never hurt their children!!"
I put my phone down. I was in the middle of a political discussion with a facebook friend. That was no longer important. My son's reaction to the news was crucial. I said, "You're right. Moms and dads should protect their children and never hurt them. This story is very upsetting. I'm sorry you had to see it. What do you think about it?"
"I just can't believe it. It's so sad. I'm very angry with that mom! I want to punch her in the face!"
"Yes. I understand how you feel. When I see parents hurting their children, I get very angry, too." He wiped his eyes, in the way that boys do when they don't want to cry.
"Soren, I would never hurt you. Dad would never hurt you."
"I know that. That mom needs to go to jail."
"Yes. She does. That would be the right thing. I hope they find the young woman soon. I hope she's okay."
"But, where will she live if they find her? She can't live with her mom! Where will she go?"
"I don't know. There are systems in place that will make sure she never has to live with her mom. Hopefully there are kind relatives she could live with, but if there aren't, the state can find a safe place for her to live."
"That's good. So, what about terrorists?"
The news had moved on to the current situation in London. A man killed four people yesterday and tried to kill a police officer, outside of Parliament. I said, "Well, terrorism is a very difficult thing. The man who did that yesterday was stopped. He was shot before he could hurt anyone else. So, that's good. There will be investigations about why he did what he did. The military people in the UK will handle it."
"But, the military has been trying to fight the terrorists for a long time. They aren't stopping them. I'm going to stop them someday. I'm going to create a plan and I'll get all the terrorists."
I could have said, "Oh, you don't need to worry about it. The grownups will take care of it." That would have been a lie. The grownups haven't taken care of this problem. I told Soren what I know about how we've tried to fight terrorism. I told him how it made me feel when the World Trade Center was attacked on September 11, 16 years ago. I told him about the person in our family who was in the building and was able to get out and even rescue a pregnant lady who couldn't make it down the stairs.
He listened, eyes wide. I explained what his Granddad told me that day. I was living in Columbus, Ohio and working near the capitol building. When I got home, I turned on the TV and watched those planes hit the towers over and over again. I cried. I worried. I called my parents. My dad said, "Turn off your TV. Go to sleep. Get up tomorrow and go to work. Don't let them win. If we live in fear and stop doing what we need to do, then the terrorists have won. If we continue to live our lives, go to our jobs and love our families, the terrorists lose. I love you. Everyone we know is okay. Get some sleep."
Soren listened. He agreed, that Granddad said the right things, but he wasn't ready to give up on his plan. He outlined all of his ideas about tracking the terrorists and making them 'defenseless' so that he could take them down. I listened. I didn't say that he couldn't do it. I told him that he should write it all down. I told him I will help him learn about everything our military has done to fight terrorism, so that he will know what has already been tried. I told him that I will help him write about it, learn about it and study military strategy. He seemed content.
This is what it means to love my Soren. Kieran also jumped into the conversation and offered to assist his brother in fighting the terrorists. Kieran said he wants to create a Paradise world. I love that. I said that we would all help Soren and Kieran. This is a worthy endeavor. They are not crazy or childish for wanting to do what even the smartests adults haven't been able to do. They're brilliant and full of hope.
"Boys, these are big goals. It might take you your entire life to accomplish them. You will need help. You will need resources. I will help you in any way that I can. You have my support."
Soren relaxed. "Thank you, Mom. I'm going to do it. I don't care how long it takes. I'm going to save the world."
And, it's only 8:44 AM. We're listening to music now. I'm writing and trying to focus on all the positive things we're going to learn about today. My pain meds are kicking in and I might need a nap. That's okay. I feel like the most important things have already been accomplished. What's on your agenda? Get to work!
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