City of stability

Sarah MacKenzie and her hockey-playing husband could raise their young children anywhere, including their native Sudbury, Ontario, but the familyfriendly peace and quiet of Parkland was exactly what they were seeking.

“We wanted to bring some normalcy to the children’s life. We jump around from city to city, and we wanted some stability. We knew Parkland would provide that for us,” MacKenzie says, citing its many parks, city-sponsored sports and family events. “The safety factor also appealed to us, which is ironic to say now.”

MacKenzie was speaking at the city’s Pine Trails Park on Friday afternoon, a short bicycle ride from her home, as her daughter, 8, and son, 6, played with their bikes. Nearby, on a field of grass typically dedicated to picnics, concerts and Easter egg hunts, 17 memorials received mourners, who offered flowers, re-lit candles and pulled tissues from boxes.

The park is part of her routine with her kids, but MacKenzie says this trip was designed to show them the reality of what was on TV and how “to be respectful of the situation.”

“I feel like we’ve lost an innocence, in our bubble. When we go out on date nights or something … there’s always a sigh of relief when we come home to Parkland, that calmness, the quiet, the dark, the country and things like that,” she says.

MacKenzie is confident the bubble can be repaired.

“It’s going to take time. But I think, if anything, now we’re just going to appreciate each other that much more,” she says. “We have the option to stay and live in Canada while my husband works here, but we choose to be here because we do feel safe. We’re happy here. And we shouldn’t run away from fear, because then evil wins, and we can’t have that happen.”