I should have done this a few days ago, but quite frankly, I haven’t been in the best headspace.

There was an active shooter at the UNLV campus on Wednesday, December 8. If that campus sounds familiar to you, it might be because I mention it when I’m doing workshops or guest teaching there. I was just there and was thrilled to receive a giant bag of popcorn so big that I had to buckle it into the car on the way home.

The shooter was a professor who apparently applied at UNLV a few years ago and was turned down. He fatally shot three staff members and a forth is in the hospital. The shooter is dead.

I was not on campus, and the people I know there are safe. Thankfully they checked in. I didn’t know those who were brutally murdered, but I mourn for them. I’m horrified at this cruelty.

The day after this shooting, my middle child’s school received a mass shooting threat. Do you know what she said to me? “I don’t believe it will happen, but next week was already stressful.” That’s because the kids have finals. They’re worried about being murdered at school and final exams. My heart absolutely breaks.

But we are physically fine, and that is a very good thing. Hopefully my next post will be a bit cheerier. And it will! I’ve sold many pieces lately, and I’ll talk about that soon. But today is a day of gratitude for the safety of some and mourning for the loss of others.