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It's been a heavy week for news with shootings and lockdowns.

When I first started reporting the news, I found myself falling apart a lot over stories. While reporters cover many wonderful stories that warm our hearts, we also write about the very dark things. And in my early days I internalized the bad stories much more than I do now.

This week had one of the worst stories I've seen in a while.

I wouldn't say I'm desensitized to the heinous stories-- they still impact me-- but I'm able to compartmentalize the situation and remember that I have a responsibility to you, my readers, to keep my head in the game and bring you the information you need. I can't just be sobbing all over the place when something bad happens.

So it came as a bit of a surprise that yesterday's news of threats at Seven Lakes High School and Seven Lakes Middle School-- threats that were never carried out-- brought me to tears at my laptop.

At about noon yesterday the texts and emails started rolling in from sources and friends in the community asking me if I knew what was going on at the two Katy schools. The schools were on lockdown, with children locked into their classrooms and doors barricaded and blocked.

The texts came in so quickly that I couldn't keep up. I was struggling to parse rumor from fact, and at one point, a mother just put me in direct contact with a 13-year-old that was hiding in a middle school classroom. He sent me photos of his classmates hiding behind overturned desks with his vigilant teacher nearest to the door.

My son is 13. All I could think was that it shouldn't be like this.

And so for the first time in about a year, I set my laptop to the side and cried. In a way it's funny that the story that had me in tears is one with a happy ending. This past weekend we saw a story that had a horrific ending. By comparison, the lockdown at two schools that ended without incident wasn't something that should have shaken me.

But human emotions are a complicated thing, and sometimes they slip through when we least expect it.

Katy ISD was great about keeping us informed on the situation, and in the end, no one was harmed. For that I'm ineffably grateful.

If the news we report ever becomes too heavy, I hope you do the same thing I did and step away for a bit. Let's chat about something good in your life. Send me pictures of your pets or share a funny story at claire.goodman@houstonchronicle.com.

Claire Goodman
Katy reporter
claire.goodman@houstonchronicle.com

Need to know

Waller County's 150th birthday is this Thursday, and the city of Katy is celebrating with its Sesquicentennial Celebration. Head over to Katy Heritage Park from 6- 8:30 p.m. for games, giveaways, food, music and more.

Shout out

Enthusiastic nods and a warm welcome goes out to Lance Carter for being named Executive Athletic Director for Katy ISD.

Carter has 33 years of experience as an athletic administrator. For the past 8 years, he has worked alongside current athletic director Debbie Decker, who will be retiring from the athletic director position at the close of this school year.

One last thing ...

Houston is among the top cities where people forget items in Uber, my co-reporter Sonia Garcia writes.

"Uber released its 2023 Lost and Found Index, where it details lost and found trends and the cities where residents forget their items the most," Sonia reports.

Houston ranked No. 4 on the cities 'most forgetful' list. Topping the list was Jacksonville, Fla., followed by the only other Texas city on the list, San Antonio at No. 2."

I've never actually left an item in an Uber, but as someone who is single-handedly keeping Post-Its in business from all the notes I write myself so I don't forget things, I feel a little personally called-out by Uber.