Today was a beautiful day. Ski clear and cool, perfect weather for studying out on the lanai, which I did most of this afternoon. A perfect day. The boys running around playing cops and robbers in the backyard.
And then.
C7 ran in, “It’s important! Alex’s little sister is in the pool!” Not our pool, thank God. But the way he said it, I thought he had just found her there.
I ran outside.
Already a firetruck, ambulance and police were at our neighbor’s house. The medics were moving quickly, so I’m hopeful she has a chance. But I don’t know. I’m scared. A bit panicky. All the neighbors are outside. Stunned. One tells me, “This is enough. When will it end?”
Less than two months ago, another neighbor lost a child. A teenaged boy. The shock, the mourning. The surreality of it all. They are our next door neighbors. I know they are still reeling from it all.
The boys play with Alex. He is 10. I don’t know his family. His little sister is less than 2 years old. The boys don’t know her name. I don’t know how to reach out, how to comfort, how to be in someone’s life in tragedy when I haven’t involved during the normal seasons of life. A friend of mine has been the gentle prodding example of community, within the church and within the neighborhood. Community appeals to me, community invites anxiety within me.
Please pray for Alex, his little sister and their family.
I don’t want this to be a grey autumn.
UPDATE: 10/27 — No news yet from the neighbors. Thank you for your continued prayers.
UPDATE: 10/30 — I haven’t seen the neighbor’s at home. Another neighbor said the little girl was taken to All Children’s Hospital, which I take as both a good and scary sign. Good, in that she’s made it so far. Scary, in that she’s probably having serious complications. Thank you for continuing in prayer for this family, and being encouraging to me as I struggled with the shock and upset.