Lost moments...

In Awe...

I had a very different post planned for this blog but just couldn't bring myself to write it following the events in the States on Friday. I don't think there was one of us who didn't hug our children or grandchildren tighter that night. This photo is of my grandson when he woke up and found a Christmas tree had sprouted in his lounge on Saturday morning. Last year he was too young to take much notice but this year it was a little different as you can see.

It is those precious moments, a mere snapshot, that mean you can build a whole life time of memories. On Friday a young man decided to wipe out any future memories for so many families. They will be left with the ones they already have, which will be unbelievably precious and they will never let fade. But there are no new moments to be made. Their lives hit a sudden and cruel full stop. I cannot imagine how you handle that but there are many people all over the world dealing with just that. Wars, conflict and crime punctuate our lives.

There are, quite rightly, a lot of arguments and chest beating going on about the gun laws in the US but we all know it is so much more than that. What about mental health care provision? Where's that?  I was lucky enough to have a full knee replacement this week, fully funded by the NHS, I will be fighting fit in a very few weeks. If I was in the US I doubt I would have been able to afford it. Don't get me wrong, we are not perfect, there is a lot wrong with our country too. And I am not going to use this post as a political diatribe there are many who can do that way better than I can. There are times when we need to stop and look at ourselves and what we are doing to this world.

If I am honest my thoughts are with the survivors and with the families who have lost someone. They will be getting through each day at a time. Facing the world wondering how they can do it. As a writer of children's books I am aware that a lot of innocence will have been lost on Friday. It is my hope that these children can find ways to recover their childhood a bit by disappearing into good books that will take them by the hand and remind them how to live again.

Sending everyone who has lost someone strength and love as we head towards this holiday season