definitely not candidates for mother of the year

If you're looking for happy things today, this is not the blog entry to read. Move along, move along.


I believe it's every parent's responsibility to protect their children. Obviously, they can't always succeed because sometimes, things are beyond their control, and sometimes, things can happen in the flick of an instant. I find it hard to fathom that anyone can purposely hurt children. But I find it even more difficult to comprehend how a parent can knowingly and repeatedly allow their child to be hurt in the worst way possible.


A man in Atlanta was convicted of molesting two children, and he was sentenced to life in prison. I have absolutely no sympathy for him or understanding of how he could do that. But the only benefit I could possibly give him is that the children were not his. However, this man was the on-again, off-again boyfriend of the children's mother, and she knew that she was putting her children at risk with him, and yet, she continued to do it. How did she know? Because he viciously raped her. And for that, she not only forgave him but then proceeded to let him move into her house, with her children, and she let him watch her kids while she went out partying and drinking. Perfect babysitter, don't you think? But then there was also word that this was not the first time she had put her kids in the situation of being molested. How does one sit by and allow this to happen? How does one's instinct not kick in to protect their own children? How does one choose partying and drinking over the physical safety of their children?

In the video that follows, the judge in the case sentences the molester and then turns his attentions to the mother and basically rips into her for what she's done to her children. Just a warning that the news story includes some graphic description of what the man did to the children, so if you'd rather not be subjected to that, don't watch the video.







Many parents at some point in time suffer through the "empty nest" syndrome, when their child/ren has/have grown up and gone off into the world. They might be sad not to have the kids around any more, but they can be satisfied knowing that they have raised an independent and well-adjusted child who has made a place for him/herself in society.

And then there are the parents who don't know how to let go, who continue to treat their children like "children", no matter how old those children are. And then, someone takes that much too far. This is a story about a mother who so didn't want her child to ever leave her that she told him he was disabled when he was not, keeping him in a wheelchair when he didn't need it. I hope that her parental rights were stripped and that he never has to see her again and that there is some kind of counseling that can help him through this.