We Make Mistakes

Some of you may have heard the story in the news today about the tragic death of a two year old boy at a Philadelphia zoo . While I won't repeat the details , the story is one that has weighed heavily on my mind today .

I first saw the story on Good Morning America , and then later read an article about it on Yahoo .

As I came to the bottom of the article my eye caught the comments that were being made about this sweet baby's mother .

My heart broke for her .

I cannot imagine the pain of losing a child . I cannot imagine the anguish of feeling like you were even somewhat responsible , a burden which I'm sure every parent carries no matter the circumstances . I especially cannot imagine having my loss spread across the nation as some kind of gross example of how you can never be too careful , and having to endure the judgement of the mindless.

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Most of all , I cannot imagine missing moments like these .

I wouldn't think that the people leaving those malicious comments were parents themselves .

Because if you were , you would recognize that we all have careless moments with our children .

We all do things that seem perfectly harmless , until suddenly they aren't . . . we're just lucky enough to have our children walk away unharmed .

Yes , we are the lucky ones .

When Annie was about 7 months old , I put her on the counter in her Bumbo chair while I was making dinner for another family in our neighborhood. Looking back now , it seems careless , but at the time it was something I had seen other people do .

I just . . . didn't think .

As I turned to place something in the oven , I heard Annie's toy hit the ground , followed my a loud smack . I ran over and found my baby face first on the tile floor , crying .

As I picked her up her eyes bulged out , rolled back in her head , and she began to convulse .

She then let out a long sigh , her eyes closed , her was body completely still .

At that moment , if only for that moment , the thought crossed my mind that I was watching my baby die - and it was all my fault .

By the time the paramedics arrived , Annie was awake and responsive .

After a long evening in the hospital , all results came back that she was completely okay .

The doctors and nurses told me not to beat myself up , that they did the same thing with their kids all the time .

I was one of the lucky ones .

To the mother of that baby boy , whose precious life was taken all too soon , I know that you will see him again . I also know that nothing will ever fill the hole in your heart until that day comes when you can be reunited with him .

I pray that you will have strength .

Today , after hearing his story , parents around the nation held on to their children a little bit tighter - accidents and tragedies were further prevented as we all became more aware .

He left a legacy , even in his short time .

- e

P.S. - I spent some time looking for a quote or scripture that would go with this but came up short . If anyone has one they would like to share , would you please leave a comment ?