Anxiously watching.

I grew up on the west coast, so I've been hearing about "The Big One" all my life. Let me rephrase: I've been terrified about "The Big One" all my life. 


When I hear about an earthquake measuring 8.6 on the Richter scale occurring across the Pacific, it sends shivers up my spine. When I hear about six nuclear reactors unable to cool, I'm nearly paralysed. Has anyone really bought into the idea that everything in respect to these reactors is copasetic? I mean, you want to believe it's true, we all do, but can you really?


My eldest brother Keith grew up with a fear of the Bomb. He spoke with me about it several times and I came to see that it had a huge impact on who he was as a person. I remember watching the horror of the Chernobyl meltdown on the news as a kid, not fully understanding what it meant, only realizing years later the catastrophic effect it had on the earth and the people who lived anywhere nearby.


So with that in mind, we all must now sit and wait to find out what is really happening in Japan in terms of the nuclear reactors and what it may mean for anyone who lives in the fallout path. How awful to feel so selfish when the people of Japan are suffering so harshly. But I do: my babies live in a potential fallout path. My babies.


And when I think of my babies, I think of all those babies in Japan, and not just the small ones. Every single person affected by this earthquake and tsunami is someone's baby. All the people already killed and those who may die in the coming days and weeks. And months and years. We are all connected, we are all the same. My heart is broken just thinking about it.

Red Cross worker feeds an infant in a shelter in Japan, Image found online.