Recently, after a long day of cooking, I took to my Facebook page and posted the following message: “In all my travels, I have been to my fair share of holy sites—St. Peter’s in Rome, the monastery of St. Clare, …

I TALK TO MYSELF. I think we all do a little bit, at least in our heads. I don’t think it’s weird; it feels necessary. When I started my clothing business, I began recording myself on my laptop’s webcam anytime something new or exciting would happen. Sometimes, I would talk through a design I was making. Other times, I would film myself during the checkout of my biggest inventory purchase, when I was packing an exciting order, or right before my first in-person sale event. You get the idea. 

At the bottom of my bed is a chest filled with memories that I have collected over the years. There are cards from loved ones, notes from my husband, Mark, and special gifts from my kids, among other things. At the very bottom of the chest is a collection of papers from my grade school years.

This past July, as I watched the horrifying events at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, play out, I was once again horrified, heartbroken, and outraged. No child, no parent deserves to ever have to endure such a situation. 

SHORTLY AFTER MOST PARENTS breathed a collective sigh of relief due to the waning concerns of COVID-19 and the numerous challenges it caused with schooling for nearly two years, they were faced with another frightening situation. Every parent’s worst nightmare played out in the horrific massacre of the children and teachers in the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, this past June. 

Ask some 55 million K–12 students what they associate with “Alice,” and you will likely hear “ALICE Training.” This program introduces a protocol that might help students survive the breaching of their school by an armed attacker. The acronym stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate.