Living in the Chicago area, the news of the tragic events yesterday at Northern Illinois University are inescapable.

Since giving up coffee for Lent, I HAD been sleeping beautifully but last night, my slumber was fitful.

I thought about how difficult it must be for a parent to send a child away to school,  AS IS...and these days, those parent-child milestones are compounded by the reality that random acts of violence and terrorism occur far too often in our communities.

 When I was in college, a deranged woman attempted to poision and otherwise cause harm to a number of students on my campus before she walked into a local grade school and opened fire, shooting and killing a young child ad wounding others. Prior to that, when I was in high school, I had asked my mom for a ride to the mall. Fortunately for me, she stated that she had too much work to do preparing the house and my sisters' cosutmes for Halloween. That afternoon, another deranged woman walked into the mall and randomly shot and killed a number of innocent shoppers, one of whom was the obstetrician that delivered me as a baby!

Related to those thoughts, yesterday in the mail, I received a Girl Scout camp catalogue that I requested from our council office. My daughter and I went through the offerings together and she selected a 3-day, 2-night overnight camp expereince that she'd like to try this summer. I am wholly supportive of her learning and expressing independence, and to have the opportunity to camp with girls her age from all over our region. I just don't know how I'll manage on the drive there or for the following days.  I think it will be the longest three days I've ever lived.