I had to follow up Mitch’s blog about the horror in Paris with one of my own. Mitch did an incredible job writing about the facts. For me, today, it’s all about the emotions. As I commented on Mitch’s blog on Sunday, two days after the attacks, “My heart hurts.”

The Sunday Times reported that many of the victims at the concert and the restaurants were young people enjoying a Friday night out in Paris. I think about their parents, families, and loved ones and the unendurable loss they have had to sustain. I think about the parents of the art student from California who was spending a semester in Paris, probably fulfilling a lifelong dream. And their unimaginable pain.

I remember the days right after 9/11 looking up at the quiet skies-when all the flights were still grounded-and feeling that our world has changed forever. I would imagine that most people in France are sharing that feeling today.

They say there are five stages of grief; denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. After 9/11 I realized that you don’t ever truly accept a loss like this. My heart still aches for the people of France. What are your feelings today?