A short time back I pulled into my garage and shut off my car.

I had the news playing through bluetooth on my phone.

Another shooting.

One of the Carolinas.

I just sighed, shook my head and started to get out of the car.

A there it was on my phone screen.

"Mom there is a shooter in the next room. Come get me please please."

It was a text one of the young students had sent their mother.

And then I lost it.

I spent the next twenty minutes sobbing in my car.

The light turned out.

Snot running down my face, hyperventilating until I couldn't cry anymore.

I got that exact same text a few years ago from my daughter. 

I was a lot more fortunate then this mother.

I was driving home from lunch with a friend when my phone went off and there was a text I had to read twice to believe.

"Mom there is a shooter in the next room. Come get me please please."

I drove as fast as I could.

As I passed a strip mall on the way to her school I saw dozens of police cars surrounding a parking lot.

I would later learn that was where the shooters life would end.

I sped past and pulled into my daughter's high school parking lot and got out.

My mind racing trying to think of a way to get past the police and to my girl.

I didn't make it inside.

I was herded with the rest of the parents into a church next door.

We waited so long. 

My daughter stopped texting me. 

I could feel my chest constrict.

Trying not to think of what this meant.

I would later learn that her Aunt had told her to turn off her phone and keep quiet.

I hear a bing from the lady next to me. She stands up and starts freaking out. 

"There's a second shooter. Oh MY GOD There's a second shooter."

There wasn't. This was enough to make everyone in the room nauseous though.

We waited.

Suddenly there she was.

They released the students as they went through the building room by room. 

Lives were lost and it was a truly horrific day.

As I type this I feel like I can't get enough air into my lungs.

I feel utter sorrow for so many parents going through this.

The one thing I didn't expect was to feel so much sorrow for the shooter as well.

As a teen I messed up A LOT. I remember not knowing who to turn to. 

High School Counselor? Yeah right that is just a phone call to my parents.

My Parents? No way. We don't talk.

My Friends? They had no life experience, were just as clueless as me and gave me truly terrible advice.

What was left? How do I get out of this? Is taking my life the only answer? 

Obviously it wasn't.

With luck and a family that rallied around me, I have led a truly wonderful life.

I have never forgotten how lost, desperate and hopeless it felt at that age though.

So when it came time for me to choose a charity for my Halloween Bash I had a few rules.

*They work with teenagers.

*It be a local organization.

*They accept everyone. Every gender, race, religion, LGBTQ etc.

(This last one was tougher then I though because quit a few charities are religious based and will not work with LGBTQ)

As always my son's godmother to the rescue!

She informed me about a wonderful group call YES- Youth Emergency Services that fit all of this criteria.

Please come out this Sunday!

Come tour the new studio.

Come say Hello to the Merida and the cool balloon artist!

Come in costume and get your photo taken!

Most important, come donate any amount to a truly worthy cause!

See you there and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Sunday October 21st 2018 at 3:30pm

 5701 South 108th Street
 Omaha NE 68137

***When asked what three things my daughter loved for her senior session she replied, "Japan, outdoors, my Grandpa." Below is a photo of my baby and her Papa Pete during her senior session a few years ago.

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