An Open Letter to All the Moms of the Children Lost at Pulse Night Club

            I call them children, because they are your children. You may have carried them within your body for nine months, on your hip for several years, or walked beside them through life when their biological mothers couldn’t. You knew these men and women like no other person could and loved them unconditionally. In their last moments of life, they may have reached out to you wanting your comfort, because no one could comfort them in their time of fear like their mothers.

            Mothers are nurturers. You are the ones that kiss the pain of a skinned knee away. You are the ones that argued for your child to be accepted as who they are. You are the ones who have stayed up late nights wondering if they were OK when you put them to bed with a fever. Mothers are the givers of the best hugs, and the ones who can tell all of your hurts by hearing a simple “hello” when you answer the phone.

            In this tragic time, I look at you and wonder what you must be going through in these days, hours, minutes and seconds of this horrific act that took your babies away. There are people on social media that are saying terrible things about your children, but I hope that you don’t see it. I hope your hearts are inundated with the love, support, and prayers that are coming from around the world. I hope that you can find some solace in the togetherness of the millions that are rallying around you and your lost children.

            The man who committed this act does not deserve for his name to be known. Instead, we need to only focus on the names of your children. It was you who suffered one of the greatest losses a parent could ever face, and it’s your children’s names that need to be shared repeatedly and remembered. Edward Sotomayor Jr., Stanley Almodovar III, Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo, Juan Ramon Guerrero, Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera, Peter O. Gonzalez-Cruz, Kimberly Morris, Eddie Jamoldroy Justice, Darryl Roman Burt II, Deonka Deidra Drayton, Alejandro Barrios Martinez, Anthony Luiz Laureanodisla, Jean Carlos Mendez Perez, Franky Jimmy Dejesus Velazquez, Amanda Alvear, Martin Benitez Torres, Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon, Mercedez Marisol Flores, Xavier Emmanuel Serrano, Gilberto Ramon Silva Menendez, Simon Adrian Carrillo Fernandez, Oscar A Aracena-Montero, Enrique L. Rios Jr.. Though all of the names have not yet been released, it is still important to honor those that have been confirmed. They deserve to have a voice, and their voices deserve to be heard.

            For all the mother’s still awaiting news on your child, I wish that our prayers and thoughts were enough to abate the fear and pain you and your family must be feeling. I know there needs to be action, but what I don’t know is what action needs to be taken. So for now, while the world grieves with the city of Orlando, and the families directly affected by this tragedy, know that we understand you are grieving a loss that no parent should ever have to face. As one mother to many, my heart hurts for you.  

Stop yelling at me, please
~J