Truly conflicted

First off, WTF is going on with Orlando?  Murder of a young singer, night club massacre, and then a little boy killed at the happiest place on Earth.  I’ve referred to Florida as God’s waiting room before but this is a little too literal!

My heart sank on Tuesday evening as I drove home to pick up the boys, to hear the news of a 2 year old boy snatched by an alligator at one of the Disney resorts.  Just hearing that alone was heartbreaking.  Then to hear that his father attempted to wrestle the alligator to save his son, I can’t imagine the horror, the guilt and the heartbreak the family must be enduring.  No parent should ever have to bury a child, let alone is such a horrific and violent death.  It took 18 hours, but they found the lifeless body of the child.  But sooner than that, the Perfect Parents came out saying “that would never happen to my child” and “where were the parents?”  There is still a lot of raw emotions from the death of Harambe at the Cincinnati zoo, which fortunately had a better outcome for that child.  I posted about accidents and parental responsibility.  Yes, accidents happen, yes we CAN learn from our mistakes.  Leaving a baby unattended in a tub is wrong.  People now put locked fences around pools to keep their children safe.  We’ve LEARNED what can happen, and we can keep our children more safe. 

In reality and all honesty, I don’t judge these parents.  It truly was a freak accident.  Like Cincinnati, where they improved the safety around the Gorilla exhibit after the accident, I’m sure Disney and the Wildlife Conservancy will review the safety of their habitats and possibly some improvement.  I truly think the ONLY ones who could say “that would never happen to my child” are the Uber-Helicopter-Parents.  I believe in situation awareness, I believe in being responsible for your children, but I also truly believe accidents can happen.  Could something tragic happen?  Sure, but is it likely?  We all make these determinations every day in our actions, and they colour our views, actions and words.

What I have the hardest time thinking about is those tiny little white coffins that take the children to the grave.  I cry whenever I see one, I hope to NEVER have to see one in my family and circle of friends.  I can’t imagine the grief, and I just want to hug those parents from Nebraska who knew a tragedy could happen, but never thought it could happen to them.

As usual, Scary Mommy says it so well.