Here's Why It Matters

And now I'm going to tell you why it's important to leave hearts on windshields and love notes in lunchboxes.

Because life changes as fast as a gunshot. One moment you're part of a happy, enthusiastic crowd. The next moment, you're watching mourners walk under a 9-11 flag at the funeral. Or your family and friends are thrilled because you can open your eyes. You can squeeze a hand.

In Tucson, it was a gunshot. In any city, any country, any day, it's a gunshot, a heart attack, a phone call at midnight. And life, as we know it, is forever altered.

This is not a political blog and I have no intention of making it one. I am not going to tell you to write your congressman or how to vote. Those of you who read the blog regularly can easily guess how I feel about the Tucson tragedy and the events leading up to it.

However, this is a Jewish mother's blog and -- in that role -- I am very comfortable telling you this:

Don't take opening your eyes for granted. Don't take squeezing the hand of someone you love for granted. And, when you're with those people you love, say the words. Often. While you can.

As George Eliot said, "I like not only to be loved, but to be told that I am loved. The realm of silence is large enough beyond the grave."