They were Sons.

They were Daughters.

They were Fathers.

They were Mothers.

They were Godmothers.

They were Godfathers.

They were Uncles.

They were Aunts.

They were Cousins.

They were Husbands.

They were Wives.

They were Friends.

They were Colleagues.

They were Girlfriends .

They were Boyfriends.

They were Acquaintances

They were People that you stood in line with in the supermarket.

They were Creative.

They were at the most basic level Human.

Now they do not exist.

They do not exist in Orlando.

They do not exist in Sandy Hook.

They do not exist in Aurora.

All of the others they do not exist.

My heart is heavy for the people left behind, the collateral damage.  We grieve each of those people and we sit with heavy hearts as their deaths are politicized and turned into meaningless arguments for people who care only about their own agendas.

That is not happening here.  We hear you and in a comparatively, infinitesimally small way feel you, you the collateral damage, you who are left behind to pick up the pieces, you who had those who died in your phone books, on your mantles and in your hearts.

I carry you with me when I look at my children.  You are in the back of my throat as I try to find an explanation for these acts, because there is no explanation.  I look at my babies and I hope that as I kiss them goodbye I get to see them again at the end of the day.   When I do, I feel lucky and I hope that by continuing to love them and by continuing to live and trying to make lives better, I in some way am honoring those you lost.  Those we lost.

The most important label each person who died had, the only one that really matters is one…Human.

I Will Not Be Silent Anymore.  I am who I am.