They Didn't Know We Were Seeds

📸 by @somerrunner . 

A lot of you don’t know that before I was a nurse practitioner, I worked as a nurse in a hospital for 5 years. I was on shift the day of the Marysville Pilchuck school shooting in 2014. The victims who were not expected to make it were transported to my hospital while others airlifted to the level I trauma center in Seattle. 
I’ll never forget seeing the cafeteria filled with devastated families. It’s been 8 years and that level of heart break is just… indelible. I’m having a really hard time with this one. This should not keep happening. I’m furious. I’m sad. But I’m still here, hoping for change. 
There are many things you cannot talk about working in health care, there are many experiences and feelings I don’t even know the words for, but I’ve always leaned into painting my way through the worst of it. 
As an artist, I want to respond to what I see, particularly the things that break my heart or spark me up in such a way that I can't help but also tell my own story in the paint. And maybe that’s what this is all about. 
This is me holding together and keeping alive the fragmented parts of the world
and myself. 
I had some big news to share, but right now, my heart is with Texas. 
❤️‍🩹
I posted some of this on my story and I’m completely overwhelmed by the messages you all have shared with me. I’ll be working on responding - just know I’m incredibly touched, but completely buried. 
I heard a fantastic quote that I’m holding onto: “They tried to bury us, but they didn’t know we were seeds.”

I’ll figure this out. And I hope you’re all finding peace in whatever ways that looks like for you.🌱