Normally this is not the sort of thing I would write about here. But as a graduate of Northern Illinois University and the father of two sons now in college at Eastern Illinois, the events of last Thursday have left a pretty marked impression.
 
I can't help but think about the families of those victims and how difficult it must be to deal with the randomness of it all. I picture the families excitedly opening the acceptance letter when they found out they'd gotten into NIU. I picture them, like us, helping their kids move into their dorms or apartments to begin another semester, or celebrating the holidays not know that it would be their last together. And I picture students getting ready to go to class Thursday morning, perhaps wondering if they should blow it off for the day, and thinking about weekend plans that would never be.

In the softball world we often put way too much importance on which teams our kids make, where they're hitting in the batting order, or whether they win a particular game. This is one of those reminders that all those things are minor in the big picture.

Hug your kids tonight.