the surreal life

Okay, I probably shouldn't be writing about this here, but since no one but me seems to ever access this blog, I guess I'm safe. One of the teachers at my school is now in the county jail for assaulting her eighty year old mother, allegedly with a hammer. The entire idea is mind-blowing to me. I've known this woman for years. She is a little batty, I'll admit. Okay, a lot batty. She has struggled with bipolar disorder since before I met her. She's intense and not entirely likable. But she is so driven, such a do-gooder, so over-involved in charity work, and, a really good teacher. So while she's always seemed a bit odd, she has certainly never appeared to be violent. The whole thing is surreal. I dreamed of scenarios last night that might have led her to do this horrendous thing. I find myself wondering what her relationship with her parents was like, if her upbringing contributed to her overall battiness. I feel so sorry for her--her life is ruined. I know I should be feeling sorry for her mom, who was airlifted to a local hospital. And I do. But I know this colleague, and I just am finding it hard to wrap my mind around her as a violent criminal. She's always seemed so unfortunate to me, the kind of person who works almost too hard and still never seems to catch a break. Maybe all those years of trying to please others finally culminated in this one terrible act.