Other People's Problems

I just read about a man whose wife and three young daughters were swept away in a flash flood while he looked on. Then I read about the shooter in Norway who took the lives of about 90 people yesterday, with the death toll still mounting. Then I read about a woman who was driving home in a thunderstorm and a tree crashed though her windshield and impaled her in her right eye and exited behind her left eye. Then I stopped reading and decided to make another pot of coffee.

What can we do about the horrors that befall others? Nothing. Not one thing. And crying about it, which is my standard reaction, doesn't help. The worst part is that hearing all those terrible things does not make my allergic reactions to mosquito bites any easier to bear, or make my hot, un-air-conditioned house any cooler, or make my husband's impending shoulder surgery any less frightening. And shouldn't it?

And speaking of my husband--Mitch is relatively new to running and he ran his first official race this morning. It was great fun to cheer him on and see him cross the finish line. It's a little less fun now, but still I'm sure I'll remember his first race long after I've forgotten all those bad things that happened to other people. And that's really a shame.