"I'm scared, Mommy."

The words of the child in the car in Minnesota when they handcuffed her mother for...well, riding in a car with a broken taillight.

I guess.

This, after watching the man who was to become her stepdad get shot and die.

At the hands of a white policeman.

"I'm scared, Mommy."

I am certain those words, or similar ones, are being said by the children of the officers who died.

At the hands of a black man.

So, now the battle lines are drawn...

...and those DAMN guns we Americans 'claim and covet' are drawn...

...so it's too easy to not hear...to not listen...to the children.

"I'm scared, Mommy."

THAT should stop us in our tracks.

THAT should shame us.

THAT SHOULD BE THE HEADLINE!

BREAKING NEWS>>>I'M SCARED, MOMMY!>>>BREAKING NEWS>>>I'M SCARED, MOMMY!>>>BREAKING NEWS>>>I'M SCARED, MOMMY!!>>>BREAKING NEWS>>

But, instead, I found it buried in the midst of one of the articles I read.

So, I bring it to you to do with as you choose.

I, for one, will try to LISTEN to ALL the children in my corner of the world.

I shall remind my white grandsons who already know their lives matter that I love them.  I shall be certain that my black great grandson knows that I love him and his life, indeed, DOES matter.  I shall pray that THEY continue to love each other and I shall pray that love spills over onto those whose lives they touch.

Mostly, I will not just pray but actively advocate (I put it here in print so as to hold myself accountable to action beyond just being a memaw) for the 'grown-ups' to stop 'shooting and shouting' long enough to LISTEN to the children, most especially the ones who are saying, softly and gently yet loud and clear,

"I'm scared, Mommy."