It could happen to anyone.....

I'm reading this book called The Hour I First Believed. It's about a couple whose lives were affected by the Columbine shootings. The wife was in the library and hid inside a small cabinet for hours. She heard all of the shooting, the screaming and pleading of the students, the laughter and taunting of the two with guns. She suffers from PTSD, understandably. The husband was a teacher at the school, but was out of town dealing with a family emergency on that day. The book is fiction, but the author, Wally Lamb, did much research.

The couple moves back home to Connecticut to try and escape Colorado and the trauma that occurred. The wife becomes addicted to prescription medication and ends up in prison as the result of an accident. Their lives continue to change during her prison sentence. I'm not finished with the book, but felt the need to write.

What stands out to me is the fact that this was an ordinary couple. The wife was a nurse and the husband was a high school teacher. Regular, everyday type people. Now they are in this horrible situation; he's working multiple jobs to keep the house and farm that has been in his family for years, he's dealing with astronomical legal fees and facing a possible civil suit, he's struggling to visit his wife in prison. She is changing, becoming accustomed to prison life and all the norms that occur in those walls. They both are increasingly angry.

A regular couple, normal people. Like me. They never expected to be in this situation in life, but who does? Caelum and Maureen (the couple) are good people, each with life experiences that have created who they are today and who are striving for happiness and are content with their place in this world. Like you and me. Then one awful thing happens (which landed her in prison), and their lives are totally upended. It's just a reality check. People make mistakes. Doesn't make them bad, it just is.

Smile. Hug those who are important to you. Experience joy in the simple things. Be thankful for the goodness in your life. You never know what's in store.