Ever since Catholic Girlie decided to join the city-wide elementary strings orchestra, my whole ‘day of rest’ thing has taken a backseat to providing taxi and refreshment service. Which is fine. Who can complain about free entertainment on early weekend mornings until the orchestra actually hits the stage, right? Not me. These kids are really good. And so what if bathroom cleaning falls on Sundays for a few weeks. It’s kind of a nice trade-off that I can live with.

Only, hold on just one minute…

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Von Maur at the Westroads Mall in Omaha, Nebraska will reopen tomorrow. After much cleanup of the memorials and at least one ceremony that I know of outside of the department store, business will return as usual. I don’t know about you, but this has been a hard tragedy to swallow… especially one so close to the holidays.

Be well everyone. Hug your loved ones and tell them that you love them every single day. It matters more than you know.

Today my daughter and I made our way to Westroads Mall to visit the memorial outside of Von Maur where the tragic shooting incident occurred. The constant stream of onlookers who passed by on foot or via car made the whole event seem surreal. Photos of the victims printed on personal notes and prayers alongside stuffed animals, flowers, bells, and engraved stones decorated the store entrance, the one that is closed to all shoppers until the ‘crime scene’ has been fully investigated. Such outpouring of faith is unfathomable… my God, how can we possibly go on without it?

‘Dealing with the trauma’
Originally uploaded by itchick

These are the words and images found in the newspaper 3 days after the shootings at the Westroads mall in Omaha. So many people have been affected by the tragedy, as we all struggle to regain some form of normalcy in our daily lives. But ‘dealing’ is easier said than done when the pictures, video, commentary, etc. continue to haunt us in every form of media. No, the event cannot be ignored, yet a person does need a break from hearing/seeing it all in more detail than necessary.