As I awoke this morning, my first thought was the spur-of-the-moment little trip my friend, Trisha, and I had planned. We weren’t going far. It was just a four-hour drive to her family condo in Florida, where we planned to relax for a few days.

Thoughts of shopping, enjoying nice restaurants, and lounging by the pool filled my mind in these waking moments. I had already made arrangements for my faithful canine companion, and would return before my next cheerleading adventure at Gauge’s soccer game, so all was a go. I only had to finish up my packing.

When I flicked the TV on to catch the weather, horror filled my eyes. I could barely breathe as I read the caption over a scene of absolute confusion — “50 dead 406 injured in Las Vegas shooting.”

“What has happened to our nation? What has happened to our world? Why would anyone set out to murder as many innocent people as possible?” My chest tightened and tears threatened as I watched the tragedy unfold.

My mind could barely take it all in.

I sat in complete astonishment for a few minutes before picking up the phone to call Trish. She was unaware of the madness taking place, and we hung up to decide if we still wanted to leave our comfort zone after this shock to our senses.

The craziness in Nevada filled me with gloom. I turned the TV off and walked around looking at the half-packed luggage. My first thought was to cancel, and stay in my safe little cocoon. After all, terrorists or disgruntled people with guns could be anywhere!

Trish called back, and we talked things over. We decided to go after all, upon remembering that our lives were meant to be lived. Hiding in our homes might make us feel safe for a while. But inevitably the price of that false feeling of security would be more than we wanted to pay.

Fear of the future, fear of traveling, fear of the unknown could paralyze us, any of us. Almost defiantly, we loaded down the car with all our paraphernalia. Trisha’s sweet hubby prayed for our safety, that peace that passeth understanding flowed into our hearts, and we headed down the road to whatever the day may bring.

Jan Penton Miller can be reached at lilsisjan@yahoo.com.