Consider me among the wordless in this country who can’t make any sense of what’s happened in the last couple weeks. It’s hard to disassociate what we do here with photography and pictures of families, especially children, and not be moved to our core. We started out as How to Photograph Your Baby and as the babies grew up we became How to Photograph Your Life. We’re thankful for what we can do that’s useful while we have the chance.

Teddy and Alexander with the ukuleles they got for Christmas.

Our school system has had regular and often practice drills in the event the unthinkable happens. Alexander is 17 now and almost as tall as me. He and his high school friends have decided they will swarm an attacker Flight 93 style given the chance; seems reasonable to me considering the circumstances. They have pretty much rejected the suggestion from one of the safety officers that they throw books and pencils at the attacker but they’re going to do it. Create confusion and then biiting, they have decided, would be the primary offensive weapon. This approach is fraught with problems but what approach isn’t?

I didn’t know what to tell his younger eighth grade brother, Teddy. Do your best to hide, I said. Do your best to help others hide. Try to keep everyone calm and quiet. Do what the teacher says. Swarm if you have to.

On this sad day I have very little to offer you but this: Turn off those crazy computers, people, and go love your families. Maybe take a few photographs while you’re doing it. (Get close, in beautiful light.)