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"I spent my weekend like most of you, I&amp;#039;m sure - sick in my heart and trying to wrap my mind around the horror of the shootings in Connecticut. I hugged my kids like crazy all weekend and extra, extra hard this morning as I sent them out the door.  In the middle of the madness on Friday, I realized that the news was reporting from an area I recognized as being very, very close to where some old friends of ours live. Peter&amp;#039;s college roommate, along with his wife and young children live in Connecticut, and I got immediately terrified. I called Peter at work to say &amp;quot;Have you called them? Are they OK?&amp;quot; Peter knew nothing of the news, having been in meetings all day. He called his old friend (who works very close to the shooting site) and thankfully, their kids go to a neighboring school and were unharmed, but in a lockdown of their own due to the situation. I was so relieved, even though my heart was breaking for the children and families that were affected. Peter and I talked a bit more about the madness of the situation, and then I finally said goodbye. It was so quick, I almost missed it. He said &amp;quot;I love you.&amp;quot; I know he didn&amp;#039;t mean to. It was just a quick afterthought of a time gone by. We always said &amp;quot;Love you - &amp;#039;bye&amp;quot; when we were on the phone and ending a conversation. Quick, and by rote. He&amp;#039;d slipped back into it out of nowhere, and it was odd to hear it again, after years of not having done so. Maybe it was a bit Freudian - tragedy has the ability to bring your own mortality - and in this case, much worse, for it was our children&amp;#039;s mortality - right to the forefront and make you face it head-on. He and I are tied together by our love for, and our fear for our kids. In the moments that we talked on the phone, he wasn&amp;#039;t my ex. He was the father of my children. And we were both felled by the epic awfulness of this thing that should never happen to any parent, anywhere. I&amp;#039;ll give him a pass on this one. It&amp;#039;s just funny how things come out like that, sometimes. Did you ever slip and say &amp;quot;I love you&amp;quot; out of habit? Did your ex notice? "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.womansday.com/relationships/dating-marriage/a47524/never-expected-to-hear/>