Mumbai

I'm most excited to start blogging. Given that being one of the lucky ones selected for the Walt Disney World Mom's Panel was my reason for getting this blog started, I assumed that would be the subject of my first blog. That is, until this afternoon. I checked my Twitter account (which again, I started because of the Mom's Panel) and a CNN post said 10 people were killed by gunmen in Mumbai, India.

For many of us, India seems so far away, and we are constantly hearing the increasing death tolls from the wars around the world. I refreshed 15 minutes later, and the toll had increased to 18. Came out of a meeting, and the death toll was in the 40s. The number continues to rise to over 80. Hostages have been taken.

I'm scheduled to go to Mumbai in March to present at the International Conference on Tobacco, and two of the conference hotels are under seige. At this point, they aren't sure of the reason, but Westerners appear to have been targeted. I am so careful to shelter Nicole from the news. She'll have plenty of time for this reality when she's older. She heard me mention the situation in Mumbai, and my poor girl was devastated. Nicole is not a crier, and she immediately burst into tears, begging me not to go. I promised her I wouldn't go. For the first time in a long time, I laid in bed with her until she fell asleep.

To all of you with family and friends in Mumbai, you're in my thoughts.