So Much Sadness

Lately it seems that there is too much sadness in the world. I don't know about you, but I am making an effort to avoid news articles. The stories about parents neglecting, abusing, and dumping their children makes me sick.

Where the Waves Teach Us Peace

My soul is weary. I pray every day for the health and happiness of my loved ones. Family, friends, pets, etc. are  always on my heart and mind. Not to  complain, but going through the experience of childhood leukemia with two of my children-- living through the hell of chemotherapy and radiation and recently immunotherapy it pains me to see such story headings about people who terrorize, traffic, and  too often murder their children. I recall an incident that occurred right after my son died, I was in a cafe waiting for a meeting to start.

The front part of the cafe was a bakery. I was across the room and I could hear a woman saying horrible things to a toddler because the child who must have weighed 20 pounds, accidentally stepped on the back of her mother's heel. I got up and approached the woman who was dangling the child by one arm awkwardly. I wanted to rip the child away, but I took a deep breath and said, "Can I help you? You seem a bit stressed." "Mind your own damn business!" She shrieked at me.

I looked down at that little girl's face and burst into tears. The woman just pulled her away from me. The woman behind the counter handed me a napkin. "Are you okay? "With mascara running down my face, I replied, "My little boy died last week and I would give anything to still have him with me. That woman has no idea how lucky she is ---or how much she is scarring her little girl." Then, I left .A few years later, I was in a pharmacy around 10pm.

A woman was pushing a grocery cart with a screaming baby who was dressed in the filthiest pajama onesie I had ever seen.  The child should have been in bed. The woman started yelling at the child and as I approached her to offer to hold the baby or help quiet him down, I saw her pinch the child's leg. Now, how does physically hurting a child or yelling in their face supposed to stop a child from crying? Again, I took a deep breath and offered assistance. This woman looked as if she wanted to throw a punch. Then, she told me to mind my own fecking business and pushed past me. I shouted after her, "you shouldn't treat babies like that! He is obviously tired or hungry." She flipped me off. Remembering how I felt that day in the bakery cafe, and that night in the pharmacy reminds me of how I have been feeling lately.

I hate it. it hurts my heart. People who are not capable of loving their child, should never have them. There is too much sadness in the world already. Don't add to it. Please, if you see someone mistreating their child or a pet or anyone who is dependent on them, speak up. You might save someone from abuse or worse. The emotional scars stay with us. Some people live with theirs forever. I was scarred by being a witness to such abuse. I am going to go eat some chocolate now to make myself feel better.

Take care,Shirley