Events of January 6th and its impact on my loved ones

The events of January 6th in Washington DC still resonate with me but for a different reason than you may think.

Actually for an additional reason.

I too am appalled at the actions of many. As I draft this post, my stomach is knotting up again. For five years I have been to Washington DC to promote a health bill. I am familiar with the buildings that were stormed by the many.

But this post is not solely about my reactions.

I want to tell you the impact it had on my 91 year old father.

I call him at least twice a day because he lives alone and wants to remain in the home he owns. I called him during the height of the desecration of our Capitol building. He was distraught and I could envision he had been crying. I could not console him or distract him from watching the events unfold.

He was traumatized.

This is a man who lived through the Great Depression, WW2 and Korea. Who lived through the assassination of JFK. Who but for the grace of god did not loose a son to the Vietnam conflict. This man whose work contributed to the space program. A man who decided to teach young men and women in a vocation school at a time the pay was such he had to hold more than one job.

My father was traumatized by what he saw and heard on the news. He said repeatedly “I never thought I would see this in his life. Our world will never recover.”

I am at a loss to console my father. I want his last years to be peaceful. The loss of my mom, his wife of 65+ years was heartbreaking. Any mending that occured has been shattered again.

He is not alone, a friend from the same generation is also distraught.

These men and women who fought on the front lines and from home so we can reap the benefits of free and democratic society are hurting. And this time not from an external source. They have been traumatized by their own country.

HartFelt wishes……I can’t finish the words this week…. perhaps you can wish that our family and friends who are hurting can find peace.