WHAT!?!? A Lock Down? HERE at my child's school?

Ashley was talking to a friend and she said, "Did you hear about the lockdown?" It turned out that her sister was at the school for something and at about 2:30 they announced over the speaker that they were having an immediate lock down. Her sister and friend were behind the stage arguing over who would get what weapon they had to fight off the intruder if he found them. Another friend posted on facebook about it. The rumor was that there was a man with a gun in or around the school. I was so grateful that Ashley was home. I was grateful that this wasn't happening during school hours but 30 min.'s after school got out.

I was also kind of excited for Natalie to get home from her friend Shandi's house. Her mom works at the school so I was certain she'd have more info about it. Natalie asked if she could go home with Shandi right after school. Her dad was going to pick them up and take them home so they could hang out all afternoon. When Natalie came home the lock down came up and I asked if she heard about it. "Yes, that was so scary!" I said, "Was Shandi's mom there when it happened?" "I WAS there when it happened! It was so scary!" She said that Shandi's dad picked them up from school but got called into work so he just took them right over to the junior high. They were waiting for her mom to finish up some stuff (she was in her classroom). They were in the computer lab playing games when the announcement came over the speaker saying, "TEACHERS! WE ARE HAVING A LOCK DOWN NOW!" This was repeated a couple times. Natalie looked at Shandi and said, "I think we need to close the door." Shandi went to the door and saw her mom bookin' it down the hall to get to them. She ran in and they closed and locked the door then hid by the teacher's desk. Natalie said she was shaking and scared. She said that she started praying. She prayed about 3 times just asking Heavenly Father to keep them safe. She said that she saw some guy walking around the halls and thought it was the intruder. It scared her really bad. She started singing "I am a Child of God" in her head to help her feel more calm. When they could finally leave the police had to escort them out. It was quite the ordeal!

When I heard about this I was so relieved that she was safe. Then I was mad because her going to the school is not what I agreed to. That wasn't the plan! I was mad that they had put her in a situation that was unsafe. Then suddenly my thoughts and feelings changed. She was safe! They didn't intend to put her or them into a dangerous situation. The mom made sure they were safe, even leaving the little brother with another teacher to make sure my daughter was safe. Don't dwell on the past. Don't dwell on what could have happened! Be grateful for what is now. This was a huge part of my Growing through Traumatic Life Experiences - to focus on what is now. I am so grateful that she was safe. I am so grateful that the mom rushed to them. I'm grateful that she had another confirmation that Heavenly Father will answer prayers. He kept her safe and helped comfort her. I'm grateful that the Holy Ghost called to mind the things I had been studying for the last 8 weeks (it was a condensed class - one semester's worth crammed into 8 weeks). I'm grateful that the school's safety plan worked.

The exact details of the event still aren't known. There are some that say that there was a threat made but the gunman never even made it over to the school. (He supposedly was picked up by Woods Cross High school). There are some that say it was a group of kids that got in a fight with another group and there were emails and texts sent with threats of going to the school to kill each other. Whatever the facts are, I'm grateful nobody was hurt and that nobody hurt anyone else.

I'm grateful all my kids were safe!