vlog 7: Halloween Edition

As most of you know, on the afternoon of Halloween our neighborhood was hit with a terrorist attack. Due to this horrific situation, I wasn’t sure if I would publish this post, but decided to just share our experiences, which seems insignificant compared to some of our friends.

It was Tuesday afternoon, and the kids were just getting out of school. Now most of you know my pickups for school are all over the place, but that day I was picking up the girls and my sitter was picking up Ryder. Just as we were walking home from school, the sirens and cop cars starting flooding the streets. I thought to myself, ok something must of happen, but didn’t think it was that serious until the helicopters started hovering overhead. My friend Julie and I were texting about where we should meet for trick or treating in Tribeca. I told her I would be on my way as soon as Ryder came home from school. Then five minutes after our texts she called me concerned asking where I was. I told her we were home and just waiting for Ry and she seemed relieved and said she heard gun shots near our neighboring schools and wanted to make sure we were ok. That would’ve been the same route I would’ve taken to get there.

I immediately called and texted all of my friends that live over there asking what happen, and to make sure they were ok. Most of them didn’t really know as I received mixed answers and what it seemed to be two men shooting at each other. I thought it was students from the collage, but heard the shooter was caught. The sirens happening now, immediately brought me back to 9/11. They just didn’t stop. And I started to freak about Ryder coming back from school. I knew he was ok because he is all the way uptown, but kept texting with my sitter to let her know something was going on. I finally felt at peace when he walked through the door, but he was freaked just by seeing all of the police activity.

What I wanted to do, was to throw in the towel on Halloween but the kids were dressed and determined to make it out. I watched a little more of the news to make sure everything was under control, and safe on the streets, before making our way out. Mind you, this was before anyone realized it was a terrorist act. Leaving our apartment seemed a little eerie, as sirens were still howling. As we crossed the West Side Highway, we could see the streets completely blocked off as more police cars approached. I knew this had to be more that just two people shooting at one another. I texted another friend, and she confirmed that her building which was close to the scene was on lockdown, awaiting arrival of the bomb squad.. I can’t describe the fear that came over me, but I knew I had to hurry to my friend’s house. I was kicking myself for leaving our safe haven.

We decided to stay in my friend’s place for an hour, until we found out more information. Finally footage of the incident was released, and it was confirmed as an act of terrorism. I was completely freaked but put on a brave face for the kids. They had been counting the days to October 31st, and why should they be punished for these ridiculous acts. Looking out the windows, we noticed kids in costume flooding the streets, so we decided to join. The frightening vibe of Halloween took new meaning, to say the least. Looks of fear and concern were on most parents of trick or treaters, as they tried to hold it together for their kids.

This terrorist attack happened way to close to home, and I can’t help but think of how fortunate we were, and those dear to us were not directly affected. Thank goodness this lunatic didn’t have an automatic weapon because the results could have been much more severe. I know we can’t show these people that they have frightened us, but I’m not going to lie, this was by far one of the scariest things I’ve witnessed in my years as a parent. And a big thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who reached out to us, asking if we were safe and ok!