Down the Rabbit Hole

Family

Monday morning brings a whole new onslaught of more issues here at work. In an effort to stave off my stress, I spend a few minutes catching up on the national news via the internet. There are countless new video clips and images this morning of the devastation in Japan. It is hard not get lost in the photos that depict scenes of impossible destruction. The image that affected me the most though was a candid picture someone snapped of a man reunited with his wife and infant at one of the evacuation shelters. It is a very intimate photo of a man overcome with relief at having found his family believed to have been lost in the tsunami. It made me think, what would I do if my family were suddenly taken from me by forces beyond my control? It is unimaginable, unfathomable. I think about this man’s frantic search, the aching grief he must have fought to keep at bay while he looked for his wife and child, fearing the worst. Then, in the midst of chaos, he finds them safe. He can grasp his wife’s hand again and press his baby against his heart. This little family is reunited and though the future is uncertain, and their world rendered unrecognizable, they are together and nothing else matters.