I've largely been silent here this summer, mostly because I've been too horrified by events unfolding in the news, seemingly from everywhere, on pretty much a daily basis. I've spent a good deal of my energy figuring out how to simultaneously prepare my oldest daughter (nearly 18) for the realities of the world she is about to enter, while also endeavoring to shield my youngest (5) from those same realities. It's emotionally exhausting, but honestly, probably the only thing t