While I should be writing this editor’s column about the upcoming Christmas holiday and all the hoopla associated with the season, it’s difficult to do so with the tragic events that have unfolded in Newtown, Conn. Wow ... I don’t even know where to begin. I’m sure you’re like me — the murders in this quaint New England town have shaken me and torn my heart into shreds.

As the national media relates more and more information, the conversations have turned to issues of gun control, mental illness, safety in our schools and more. As a nation, I know we feel the need to lay blame for the results of that terrible day where 20 children and six teachers were brutally and innocently killed, but for me, the unknown image of that scene is what continues to haunt me. The issues will come later ... those families who have lost so much is where I believe our thoughts should be right now.

This past weekend as I was doing a variety of pre-Christmas tasks around the house, the TV in the background kept spitting out more details of the Newtown murders. Christmas cards, wrapping gifts, baking, etc. occupied my own world, and quite frankly, the dismal details from reporters seemed so surreal as I scurried from one task to another. A few times I thought about turning the channel or turning the TV off altogether — replacing the horror being brought into my home with a Christmas CD. But I didn’t ...