Senseless

The last 24 hours have been tough - tough for our friends in Bangkok where a bomb went off at a busy intersection during peak hour.  It is especially poignant for us because it was right outside the clinic that gave us our family.  My heart bleeds for all of those who have been killed and injured in this senseless attack.  I hope against hope that our friends and the families of all those in the clinic are safe and unhurt.

Personally, we are only 9 days away from our first holiday to Thailand as a complete family.  We have been planning our trip for almost a year, it's always been a large part of our agenda for the boys to know their heritage, to grow up knowing Thailand, to see the beauty that we have seen and experience the Thai people who are generous of heart and whose smile is their default position.  For them to know their story, for them to know how they came to be the amazing people that they are.

The question that has crept into my mind now though is 'is it safe to take our boys there at this time'.  If it were only me that I was thinking of, I would not want to succumb to the fear and terror because I think that would allow the terrorists to win.  But it's not just me, it's my boys - the most precious gifts of my life.  The two kids whose face I touch every night to ensure they are safe and breathing in their beds. JourneyMan believes whole heartedly that we still go, that we stay in Bangkok for the time that we had already planned and go onto Koh Samui and enjoy our time.

Up until this morning our only thoughts were of the things that we were going to do, the places we would take the boys, the fun that we would have as a family. The life experiences and memories that we would be forging in their lives and, of course, my mind was significantly occupied with the question 'how do you keep a 5 year old and 2 year old entertained on a 9 hour flight?'  Now I am afraid and confused, I really don't know what to do.

Is it stupidity to go willingly into a place that has seen terror so recently?  Or is it stupidity to believe that places still exist without terror?  Can you keep your kids safe?  Or is fate set and it doesn't matter what you do?

There are decisions to be made but we are in a bit of a 'wait and see' what happens over the next few days.  I really don't know what to do.

If anyone is reading this and I have great doubt that anyone is after all this time - but if you are, please send your thoughts and prayers to the innocent people who were hurt or killed by this senseless crime.