I Always Felt Safe in Paris

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Today, France experienced the worst terrorist attack since World War II. It was their equivalent of 9/11. I am heart-broken for the country. My husband and I have traveled to Paris several times. After the first visit, I felt that it was safer than most large American cities. Many times, my husband and I have strolled along the Seine ... shown in the photo. Twenty-three years ago, we hosted an exchange student from France. After she returned home, we let our 14 year old daughter go stay with her and her family. Sixteen years ago, we let another one of our daughters study in Switzerland for a few months when she was 14. She and her classmates spent a lot of time in France. Fifteen years ago, we hosted another exchange student from France. Afterwards, we let our 17 year old daughter go stay with her. Twelve years ago, that same daughter went back to France to take some summer-school classes while she was in college. Honestly, I never thought twice about any of the times our daughters were in France by themselves, without any family members along. I always believed they were perfectly safe. Today, that sense of safety was destroyed ... and that is exactly what the terrorists hoped to achieve. I'm so sad. UPDATE: One small ray of relief ... one of our former exchange students, who lives in Paris, contacted us to let us know that she and her family were not injured in the attacks, although they are very shaken by what happened. The other former exchange student lives in Dijon, so her family was not immediately affected by what happened, although they are saddened by the events, too.