how could this be?

Today  I was reminded yet again of how strange and unpredictable life is.

On Monday morning, we learned a classmate of Amelia's was missing; by late Monday afternoon, we received confirmation that she was dead.  Murdered.  Tuesday morning, we heard that another classmate had allegedly killed her.  Intentionally. Brutally. Mercilessly.

One minute, I was spreading mulch on the rose bushes, and the next I was trying to wrap my head around man's inhumanity to man.  One minute, I was waving a flag at the Fourth-of-July parade and the next I was asking how could this happen?

After all, these weren't just any kids.  These were kids from my hometown.  I watched them both grow from children into teens and young adults.  I clapped for them at school plays and cheered for them on the soccer sidelines.  I waited in playing field parking lots and driveways for them.  I stood in their kitchens and they stood in mine. I knew them or, at least, I thought that I did.

At times like these, I am forced to admit that for all my efforts to control life, to make schedules and plans; to choose the right schools, the right friends, the right activities for myself and my children;  even to regulate the temperature of my home and the softness of my bed, there are some things in life that are, and always will be beyond my ability to control.  And, at times, even to comprehend.