Crazy December...

December has been a very crazy month for me....in every aspect of the word. I can honestly say that I am definitely looking forward to a break.

On my way home from Portland on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, I received word that there had been a terrible shooting in the Tacoma/Parkland area. Four police officers had been meeting before their shifts at a local coffee house. A man came in and opened fire on all four of them, leaving them for dead. Come to find out, this hit a little too close to home. I received a telephone call that night from my principal informing me that one of the officers that had been killed was Greg Richards. He has two children at GKHS. This was a shock. What added to the shock was the additional news that we received the next day. One of my students committed suicide on Sunday night, November 30th. Needless to say, it has been a very difficult and trying month for Graham-Kapowsin High School as we have dealt with these tragedies. As a counselor, my load has been extra heavy but I have been very grateful to be able to support my students as we have all been coping with these losses.

In the midst of trials, come the blessings. With the deaths of the police officers, Washington state came together to support the families of the fallen officers. For example, the local Papa John's Pizzas in Pierce, King and Kitsap counties donated 100% of their profits to the families on December 8th and December 9th. The outcome was incredible. Thousands of people went to support this fundraiser. In fact, I tried to order pizza at one location and told that it was denied the ability to even order pizza they were so busy. I ended up driving to the one in Federal Way and was finally able to order pizza. Papa John's ended up raising a whopping $125,855...six times more than the restaurant chain was expecting! Amazing!