Lockdown

It's been a surreal week. In case you've been wondering why I have completely ignored the dramatic events in my hometown this week in favor of an in-depth examination of "Lean In," it's because we were supposed to have a family vacation this week in Washington, DC. I scheduled all those posts in advance because I wasn't planning to be in front of a computer. Instead, we made it halfway to DC when X's breathing got so bad we had to take him to the ER. On Monday, he was gasping for air and struggling to stay awake when we heard the news about the Boston marathon bombing. And last night, we had finally brought him home to my parents' house in New York and thought things would start returning to normal when we received a text at 2:30 a.m. from the town police department, informing us that our town was on lockdown. Throughout the day we kept hearing neighbors' reports of gunfire in the streets and seeing maps showing a manhunt through our neighborhood and shots fired on the corner where we used to live. After putting X to bed, I turned on the TV and was proud to see my neighbors cheering police officers in the streets. Seems very odd to be away from home during this intense time in my community.