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The Iraq War - closer to home

I found the note in my child's backpack. A shiver ran through my spine.

Our elementary school prinicipal had lost her 20 yr old son in the Iraq war recently.

We read about the war almost every day in the news, but when it gets closer to someone we know, why does it just hit you like a ton of bricks? I went through a gamut of emotions - ranging from sadness for the family, empathy for a mother losing a child, to liberally bashing the Bush administration.

Then, it came to how to approach the prinicipal and convey my feelings to her. This was an unusual situation for me. I gave this a lot of thought and ran through a whole lot of imaginary conversations that could convey my feelings appropriately. Nothing was convincing though.

The next day, i was at school and honestly, i didn't want to bump into her because i hadn't planned anything. Suddenly, there was a tap on my shoulder and a familiar voice wished me with a smile. There she was, the very person that i was carefully trying to avoid.

Words just blurted out of my mouth from nowhere - "Sorry to hear about your loss, Mrs....". She looked at me for a moment and with tears in her eyes gave me a warm hug. That said it all. Then, we talked and shared words of comfort - one mother to another mother - a strange bond capable of breaking barriers.

And, i walked away with a heavy heart.
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