The Bubble

Mt. Dora was abuzz and a bustle with energy and excitement last weekend. Not only was there an inaugural marathon  and half with a 5K that Sunday, but Saturday was family night.  In the evening the town was crowded with every age group, some seniors with guests from up north having dinner  and enjoying the beautiful light displays.  Families were there for the snow sledding down probably the biggest hill in Florida. Parents and children sat together cross legged on the large discs as volunteers pushed them down the snow covered runs, provided by various businesses in town. Christmas music vibrated from the hill top to the marina where a huge tree with lights pulsed to the tempo.

The following morning as the music beat throbbed out side out hotel window at 5:30 am, runners began gathering for their selected race. Runners talked excitedly, as they figured everyone in the hotel had to be as hyped as they were. At 7:00 the marathoners and half were off, with all the bystanders raising a cheer for them and awaiting their starting time or settling down for their return.

Then the excitement grew as runners crossed the finish line and headed for the reward of a bottle of water.  Finally, results announced and awards presented, everyone eventually headed home or to their next activity for the weekend, feeling a sense of accomplishment for their efforts.

How unreal it all seemed, just a day after 20 beautiful young children and six of their teachers had been murdered. It felt as though we were in a bubble, isolated from the reality of the horror that had occurred and shocked the nation. It felt as though that had to have been a nightmare, that we would wake up and find didn't really happen. That this couldn't be reality, because nothing so horrible could be.

Yet, the sobering fact was that we felt desperate to hang on to the bubble, because the reality was too unbearable and too hard to grasp.

Turning on  the TV in our room that night and listening to the radio on our way home, brought us back to the reality we could not ignore. We needed to share the pain of the rest of our nation. Then hold more tightly to those we love.