Last night was a late night for me. Normally, if I stay awake beyond 10:30pm, I turn into a sleep deprived monster. Last night, I was still awake after 11pm. Perusing through my addiction that is social media. One after the other, status’ about a loud noise at the Ariana Grande concert began to surface. Which then turned into an explosion at the concert. Then to a possible terrorist attack. Things escalated very quickly. All kinds of information being written in the comments.

I couldn’t help but think of how damaging this is. Yes, people like to keep informed. They like to know what is happening. Any information they can get from anyone. I am the same. Well, I was. Something like this. Something that you can never truly comprehend doesn’t need any kind of speculation. In any way. There was a picture that was released somewhere- I don’t know who started it, but it was a picture from an earlier exercise some years ago. This picture was truly awful. It showed complete destruction in the stadium. Easily something that would cause so much panic and instantly make you feel like your family member couldn’t have survived. This is exactly what I am talking about. Yes, I do draw comparisons to the day Dan died. I’m going to. I was also hearing all this speculation about the events of the night. It was, to put it lightly, disturbing. Causing constant worry. Neasea. Distress.

Suffice to say, news has reached everywhere. All over the world. I received messages from lots of my Canadian friends asking of my safety. Thos was comforting. I have since seen pictures of children who are missing being placed on facebook. These pictures being shared in the hope that these people are recognised and reunited. A page for people to mark that they are safe, a page for people to place pictures on for those still missing. This is the positive of social media . This is what it should be used for.

One thing I can say is I’m proud of Manchester. It is a city that has- unfortunately-dealt with an attack before. Manchester is resilient. Mancunians won’t let this define them. But the families of those who have been injured or lost their lives will struggle to begin with. Struggle with the magnitude of the situation they have been thrust into. And it’s up to us, as a city, to make sure we take care of them. To make sure they are felt to feel loved and supported. People are offering their homes, offering things as simple as a cup of tea, a blanket. An ear in which to listen. It all makes a difference.

Stay strong our kid. We stand behind you.

We are MANCHESTER.