Last week I was scrolling Twitter and saw an image that I’m fairly certain will stick with me throughout the years. It said celebrating after your child graduates from high school, now replace the image of graduation caps being tossed in celebration with bullet proof vests.

And that is the feeling of parenting in 2023.

This cannot be our reality? Can it? Sending out children out every day into a world where we don’t know if they’ll come home. A world where gun rights are valued over their right to live safely? How can this be our reality? Why are we continuing to let this happen? We have failed our children.

When I drop my  kids off at school each morning I squeeze their hand and tell them I love them. As I pull away, I’ve begun saying “Please let them be safe.” and continue on my way. Who am I praying to? I haven’t believed in God since school shootings have become daily water cooler news. But I am desperate enough to send those words out into the universe in hopes that maybe there is some higher being who can take care of them…because we parents sure as hell can’t.

I want to enjoy these years. And sometimes I can. But it’s a mixed bag. Some days you can push it out of your mind and power through your work. But every day, every single day I breath a sigh of relief as I collect my two kids and am granted another day to  listen to their stories. We have failed our kids. We are failing ourselves too.

So what do we do?