Like most people around the U.S., the team at Raising A Reader MA is trying to make sense of the murders at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT on Friday, 12/14/12.

Of course it is nearly impossible to make sense of the senseless.

Instead we are finding solace in the emerging stories of teachers, like 18 year school veteran Janet Vollmer, reading with their young pupils  in the corners of classrooms while the school was in lockdown on Friday morning. We smile when we think of Principal Dawn Hochsprung, who is reported to have dressed up as the “Sandy Hook Book Fairy” to encourage students to have fun reading.

We also remember that the parents of 20 young children killed at the school will never have the joy of reading a bed time story with the daughters and sons they lost. And the children, grandchildren, and nieces and nephews of the teachers, aides, and other school professionals who were killed will never again hear a story read aloud by these women.

In our culture, the holidays are a time when we find joy in the gift of family. At their deepest spiritual and religious origins, the holidays are also times when we are reminded that, even in our darkest days – when chaos reigns around us, the sun doesn’t shine, or the lamp oil is surely going to run out – there is hope that eventually everything will be okay.  Not the same, but okay.

Raising A Reader MA will be closed between Christmas and New Years. Like you, our team needs a break to enjoy their families and a period of quiet reflection. Best wishes as we head into the new year.