Maternal Instinct

Whenever we have a lockdown or evacuation at school, I get this huge maternal feeling. It's like I'm yelling at a kid to not run into the street. "Get out! Hurry! Get out now!" Then, once we're outside (or huddled together in a corner of the room with the door locked and curtains closed), I try to calm them down. The whole time, I'm trying to project calm even though I'm far from it.

Last week, we nomad-ed our way to a local elementary school (I told them which one to go to and then hoped they knew where to go. I didn't!). On our way, lots of kids came up to me confused or scared, asking what was going on. I told them that we were going somewhere to be safe.

Once we got to our temporary shelter, one senior was worried about where his 9th grade brother was. I asked who he meant and remembered seeing him. "He's here. I saw him. He's okay."

I'm in this covenant group at church and one of the things that we talk about are spiritual promptings. I think of them as spiritual gut feelings or ideas. Last Spring I had a prompting that I was a huge owl and with my wings wrapped around my students like a protective hug.

Movie of the Day: Man on Fire. Protecting kids.