Comments on: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

By: Charlotte

Charlotte — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:43:03 +0000

I always wonder at these women’s responses. You can only be the mother of a toddler for 0.25 seconds before you realize how quickly horrible things can happen. I can’t tell you how many near death experiences I have had (some preventable and others not so much). You’ve expressed it beautifully!

By: Sharlal

Sharlal — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 17:35:04 +0000

Beautifully said. I can be honest in saying that I have had way more than my share of near death experiences with my children, especially Ebug. (ooh, I could tell you stories!) And every time I hear of experiences like the ones you’ve just told I’ve felt the exact feelings you have expressed. I don’t know why I’ve been lucky enough to escape it this far, but my heart absolutely breaks for those poor mothers. All I can hope is that God is watching over them.

By: Emily R

Emily R — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 17:11:05 +0000

Have I told you lately that I love everything you write? I do.

By: Lori Z.

Lori Z. — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 14:22:18 +0000

This is the best written post I have seen on this matter. It was preventable, but who is to say that it couldn’t have been her own child whilst she had a bout of wandering thoughts or cooking or cleaning or working. Anyone who can posit that Shellie Ross was negligent clearly doesn’t have a mirror.

By: Beth

Beth — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 05:19:36 +0000

I heartily agree. I could not believe the multitude of people that seemed critical of her response. The truth is, accidents happen, and unfortunately this accident was tragic. Her tweeting about it doesn’t make it less tragic or somehow more neglectful on her part – it is just a reflection of her desire to reach out for reassurance to an audience that has reliably provided comfort in the past.

By: FoxyJ

FoxyJ — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 04:25:52 +0000

Our daughter nearly strangled on window blind cords when she was two; my husband and I were sitting at the computer in the same room and I saw most of the incident out of the corner of my eye. It was pretty horrible and a good reminder that children are capable of doing all kinds of crazy things that we can’t predict. And that parents can’t always protect them perfectly. Accidents can and do happen and I absolutely hate it when I hear people casting blame on strangers. I think it’s some kind of wierd defense mechanism or something. We’ve had two family members die in accidents and it is chilling to read the sorts of comments some people are willing to leave on newspaper articles. Horrible.

By: Emily H.

Emily H. — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 02:49:09 +0000

I am so glad you wrote this post. I agree with La Yen about the anonymity of the Internet only making it easier to place blame and call out the “guilty.” How many of us have told ourselves we would never let THAT happen to OUR children? I too feel myself being pulled multiple directions, but what is a mother to do? My oldest daughter smashed her finger in a home gym right between those stacks of weights. It required the emergency room and stitches. What was I doing? Visiting with other adults upstairs. Feel free to call child protective services. Guess I’m a horrible mother.

By: steff

steff — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 01:27:20 +0000

I like to think that in trials such as what she has gone thru that we have the grace to keep hurtful thoughts to ourselves, but sadly we prove over and over how human we are. If I understood what happened it was a totally unforseen accident. The little boy was beautiful and only God can understand how deeply that moms heart aches. I pray that He holds her in his arms and wipes her tears with His mercy.
Steff

By: La Yen

La Yen — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 01:20:50 +0000

You said this beautifully. People are so quick to assign blame, and the “anonymity” of the internet has increased this tenfold. We are not perfect. We are our childrens’ keepers, but cannot protect them 100% of every single day–in fact, it would be detrimental to them to hover and worry and stop living in order to physically keep an eye on them at all times. We do the best we can, and we raise them to be functional grown ups, which means letting them off the leash for a time, sometimes.