Just Working Through....
Sadly, on Tuesday, December 11th, a man went into my mall at work and opened fire in the Food Court Area. He killed 2 innocent people, injured another and then killed himself. There were around 10,000 people in the mall at the time.
I was not working that day. I was home with the kids when this all happened, but very well could have been there had circumstances changed. We are short handed at work right now, so I could have been called in that day. I was also planning to go do some Christmas shopping, but decided I would wait till Brad came home from work to do it instead. We also had just been there the night before to see Santa (all 5 of us).
There were quite a few of my co-workers in the store though. All the stores in the mall went into Lock down. We close all of our gates and usher all employees and customers to a secure location in the store. They remained there for over 2 hours before authorities came to say they could leave the store now. The mall remained closed the rest of Tuesday, all of Wednesday and Thursday. We just reopened on Friday. My first day back was Saturday.
Customers came. There are quite a few that needed to work on their Holiday shopping. There were those who came to support Clackamas Town Center. There are some that just can't come back there too. Those who did venture in, were happy, less moody, more polite, and just showed that they care. You can see in every one's eyes that they are all thinking about the events in the back of their minds.
We have gotten a lot of questions from customers on how we are doing. And the answer is "Alright, we are working through it." Truthfully, we are just working through it all. You take each day as it comes and just are so thankful that you are still here, that not more people were injured or killed. There are emotions that come and go. If you here a loud noise, you may get anxious. I had something make a sound and I jumped. Your mind is in so many places all at once. I found it hard to focus on work for the first little bit after I arrived back to work. You think of those poor families that lost their loved ones. Your heart breaks for them. It will get better day by day. Time will heal those wounds. Our comfort level will return. But cautiousness will always be in the back of our heads. The experiences that we have all shared in this will be ingrained for years to come.
So hug your loved ones a little tighter and be thankful this Holiday Season that you are with them.
I was not working that day. I was home with the kids when this all happened, but very well could have been there had circumstances changed. We are short handed at work right now, so I could have been called in that day. I was also planning to go do some Christmas shopping, but decided I would wait till Brad came home from work to do it instead. We also had just been there the night before to see Santa (all 5 of us).
There were quite a few of my co-workers in the store though. All the stores in the mall went into Lock down. We close all of our gates and usher all employees and customers to a secure location in the store. They remained there for over 2 hours before authorities came to say they could leave the store now. The mall remained closed the rest of Tuesday, all of Wednesday and Thursday. We just reopened on Friday. My first day back was Saturday.
Customers came. There are quite a few that needed to work on their Holiday shopping. There were those who came to support Clackamas Town Center. There are some that just can't come back there too. Those who did venture in, were happy, less moody, more polite, and just showed that they care. You can see in every one's eyes that they are all thinking about the events in the back of their minds.
We have gotten a lot of questions from customers on how we are doing. And the answer is "Alright, we are working through it." Truthfully, we are just working through it all. You take each day as it comes and just are so thankful that you are still here, that not more people were injured or killed. There are emotions that come and go. If you here a loud noise, you may get anxious. I had something make a sound and I jumped. Your mind is in so many places all at once. I found it hard to focus on work for the first little bit after I arrived back to work. You think of those poor families that lost their loved ones. Your heart breaks for them. It will get better day by day. Time will heal those wounds. Our comfort level will return. But cautiousness will always be in the back of our heads. The experiences that we have all shared in this will be ingrained for years to come.
So hug your loved ones a little tighter and be thankful this Holiday Season that you are with them.
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Grandma carol and Grandpa Brian