I can’t write this post without writing about Roseburg. It is my husband’s town, where my in-laws live. My sister-in-law is from there. Some of our best friends. It is heartbreaking to have this happen there. It’s hard for me because this is the second big shooting that has happened close to me, and has affected people I know and love. Events like this always take me right back to high school chemistry class and the grief I felt when a high school in our community experienced a devastating shooting. The words that my teacher, Sharon Rodgers, spoke always come back to me in the aftermath of these horrific shootings-
I am only one, but I am one.
I cannot do everything, but I can do something.
What I can do, I ought to do.
What I ought to do, by God’s grace, I WILL.
Yesterday began beautifully. We went out to have an Autumn adventure with my parents. It was a beautiful day out in the country.
Whenever we go out to the farm, we drive though a little town called Coburg. Whenever we drive through Coburg, Alma says she doesn’t like it.
“Are we in Eugene?” Alma asks.
“Nope, we’re in Coburg.” I say.
“I don’t like Coburg! I want to go back to Eugene!”
“Well, we’re still in Oregon.”
“Good.”
That girl. Every single time. She really doesn’t like it. She says she doesn’t like the buildings, the plants, or the trees. It’s too small. I always tell her that I love Coburg. That I had good friends there, and I had sleepovers there. It concerns her that I have such a history with Coburg.
When we cross the bridge back into Eugene, she says, “We’re in Eugene!” She pays attention the whole time, just waiting to get back to Eugene.