Those Who Give Us Pause

There are the defining moments in everyone's life, those times when you think to yourself "I will always remember where I was when ______ happened".

For me, it is a combination of the Challenger's explosion (in Science class), but more profoundly September 11, 2001 when I was working in the Senate Judiciary Committee. I remember every last detail, as most people do, down to the shoes and skirt I was wearing, and the sense of calm that settled over my mind as we ran outside to the chaos that ensued between the Capitol and Union Station. I have told the story many times as it is one that for me spans about 5 days, and it is one that I am sure will be told many more times throughout my life. I view events such as these as milestones, the quiet reminder of where you are and where you are going. The reminder of mortality. The reminder that life is finite and we should embrace the day laughing heartily and often.

I imagine there will be many moments of pause this afternoon for families around the country, as they reach their sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, sisters, brothers, cousins who are attending or working at Virginia Tech.

I imagine there will be many moments of pause for people like me who don't know anyone directly affected but stand in the doorway or in front of the computer and ache at the climbing number of fatalities.

There is good reason to pause this afternoon and take a good look at where you are and those around you. As a moment of peace sent out to those affected by the gruesome killings, as well as a moment of reminder for the things that we often take for granted. Those who give us pause are often the people who are stumbling or have fallen, but they are also the ones who provide perspective and resolve to those who remain.