Barbara Lawlor, Nederland.  This past summer has been a child’s nightmare come true: a raging fire that destroyed homes of people they knew; an evacuation of many of their friends, bomber planes flying overhead dropping red slurry on houses, roads and cars, military people setting up camp outside of town, anxiety about horses, dogs and cats left behind.

Then, last month the discovery of a bomb outside of the police station, set up to explode by a cell phone detonator.

The kids don’t hear the details, don’t understand how events seen in their video games and on movies could be real in their hometown. Even adults began to look over their shoulders, wondering how anyone could have conceived  blowing up a police department, next to an educational center that had kids in and out all day long.

How to deal with these real-life events and the emotional trauma that follows them led local educators to create an event that would allow the children to see the good guys, the heroes and thank them for keeping them safe. It would be the light that they would cling to, a way of pushing back dark feelings.

Ann Sherman, Parenting Matters Coordinator, shares a story about Fred Rogers, the gentle, funny, wise host of a children’s television show that emphasized kindness. Rogers was asked to speak on the 9/11 tragedy in a public service announcement that would help parents address their children’s anxieties and fears about the overwhelming disasters occurring in the world.

He said, “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers.  You will always find people who are helping.’  To this day, especially in times of disaster, I remember my mother’s words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers -- so many caring people in this world.”

Sherman took Rogers’ advice to heart and organized a Nederland Elementary School parade which would include the firefighters, law officers, volunteers and all the people who gave their time and compassion to help their friends and neighbors get through the difficult events of the summer.

“Last Friday, Oct 28th, at the Gratitude Parade, NES students celebrated all the caring people in our community who took in evacuees, held their hands, fought the fire, fed the masses, rescued the pets, and cleaned up the aftermath.  Children were encouraged to not just focus on the devastating fire, but to think about all the compassionate, helpful people in our community who demonstrate that the world is a loving place.

Helping children shift their thinking and focus can serve to change how they are feeling as well.”

The students lined up along the sidewalk on the edge of the parking lot carrying signs with various ‘Thank You!’ messages. They were lit up with anticipation of giving their posters to the people that had made things okay in their town.

NES Principal Jeff Miller told the children, “These are the great heroes in our town.

They took care of us and protected us. They saved our neighborhoods. This summer everyone worked together and showed respect for each other.”

The parade consisted of first responders, fire management teams, local and Front Range firefighting agencies and law enforcement officers, who drove slowly around the parking lot, waving at the students who cheered and applauded the procession. The volunteers’ grins of pride and happiness reflected the student’s gratitude towards them.

When the group left their emergency vehicles and stood before the student body, second and third graders who had collected wildflowers and grass seed presented bags of them to people whose property had been burned. In doing so they learned how the forest heals itself and moved past the scariness of the unknown.

Ann Sherman says, “We want them to express the emotions they feel and work through them, to realize that there is always something good going on. If we get in the habit of thanking people, our thinking shifts and focuses on what’s positive.”

Firefighter Bill Baumgartner received his thank you poster and beamed. “This makes me feel like I really belong to the community. I have lived here 36 years and have been with the fire department for 16 years and I owe a lot to the community for accepting me.”

Music teacher Susan Jones led the students in a gratitude song with a rap beat: “The police and firefighters, they are there for us. We’re grateful that they keep us safe, and want to show them love.”

When the ceremony ended, the students marched quietly back into the school, feeling safer; and the recipients of the gratitude went back to their lives of protecting the students and the community as well as the land we live on.