Half-Mast

The flag flying half-staff this week has been especially reverent and sacred to me. Thanks to the opportunity I've had this year to become more involved in politics, I have attended several meetings similar to the "Congress on Your Corner" where a gunman senselessly opened fire. In the path of danger were good people who had come to talk to their congresswoman about their concerns and hopes and ideas for state and country. Some were just there to listen and be apart. I identified with sweet little 9-year-old Christina who was on her student council and just there to learn more about government when she was unexpectedly gunned down. To me, these meetings are one of the beautiful parts of our political system. They give we the people direct access to someone who can take what we have said back to Washington. I believe Gabby Giffords would not have been standing on that corner if she didn't care what her constituents had to say and that she was serving them well. I pray for her and am excited when I hear of steps she is making to an expected recovery. I pray for the other injured and all those killed and their loved ones affected so deeply. I am thankful for the American spirit that I have felt come in to play as it does during tragedies like these as Americans express concern and love for the victims and are a little kinder to one another. I feel a little bit of all I've tried to express here swell up inside me every time I see another flag at half mast. I am thankful for how good my country has been to me and I love her.