“Youth is the first victim of war; the first fruit of peace. It takes 20 years or more of peace to make a man; it takes only 20 seconds of war to destroy him.” – Baudouin of Belgium

The senseless attacks in Brussels, Belgium has me worried about the kind of world my daughter will grow up in. Belgium, even though I have never been, holds a special place in our families heart. Belgium is where my husband spent a good deal of his childhood. He attended the DoD school in Belgium. Belgium is home to him, and it breaks my heart seeing the pain in his eyes while talking about the tragedy. 

I realize I can’t shield my husband from pain, as much as I wish I could. I’ve also come to realize it is going to be even harder to handle seeing pain in my daughter’s eyes as she grows and becomes aware of the horrible things that happen in the world. At a loss of how I am going to handle answering hard questions my daughter asks one day, I took a second and wrote what I want her to know…

Dear Daughter, 

My dearest daughter, one of the loves of my life. I hope that as you grow and learn you always remember how much love you have in your life. You are surrounded by people who adore you, and would do anything to keep you safe. Just look at daddy, everyday he puts his uniform on and heads off to work, where he works hard to keep us all safe. 

I want to shield you from all the terrible things that happen in the world. I want to protect you from everything bad. But I know I can’t. I know that no amount of love can shield you from all the stories of tragedy and loss the news will alway be filled with. I know it is important for you to be aware of what is going on in the world around you. But that doesn’t make my desire to shield you any less. 

I hope you will never have to personally experience one of these tragedies, not because you couldn’t handle it, but because I don’t want to see you in pain. I don’t want senseless attackers to alter your view on life. I don’t want a tragedy to fuel fear or hatred inside of you. I want you to always remember that hate attacking hate will never have a positive outcome. Those that let their hatred and fear drive them, will never find peace. 

I want you to always remember, the reason terrorist do such horrific things, is because they are letting hate fuel their actions. They believe their actions are justified, they believe their actions will result in change, and their number one focus is to create fear among the masses. I hope that you don’t let the actions of a few influence your opinions of others. 

My beautiful girl, you can make a positive difference in this world. You can choose love over hate. You can call upon the love and support of those around you to keep you strong. And know, that you can always share your fears with your father and I. We are here to be your strength, because you my dear, make us stronger.

All my love,

Mommy