Right now I know of a child that is in the foster care system because the mother is so addicted to electronics that this little one was completely neglected so was apprehended from her care. This is intense! I feel like if I had a cell phone 24/7 plus the computer I could easily become neglectful. Motherhood is demanding and often lonely and the false comfort of feeling connected would consume me.
So I hope I am taking healthy steps in the right places.
Today was quite the day. My daughter and I had to conduct a baby rescue. There was a little one year old that left her house (the back door was left open) at 9am, her mother has five children and was still fast asleep. She was wearing a diaper (and nothing else) and holding a can of juice. She walked across the road and down the street quite a ways. Who knows how long she was out alone but by the time she got to our house she was calling out for her mommy. She had her diaper off ( so I see this little baby standing alone naked on the side of the road) and was holding it in her hand, a pit bull (her families') was protecting her. We heard her calling for her mom and the dog barking furiously. When we got there the dog tried to attack my daughter through the fence ( I had not gone down at first totally not believing there was a baby by herself so my daughter is the true hero in all of this as she heard her calling and saw her and didn't see a mom anywhere so went to check out the situation) and we couldn't get to her. I couldn't open my locked gate as I didn't have the key and was afraid to open the garage door in case the dog attacked us because the door closes so slowly. After a while the dog seemed to sense she was being rescued and ran away (my neighbor was gearing up to help but the dog thankfully backed off in perfect time) and my daughter jumped the fence and brought her to me. We took her inside and got a clean diaper on her and a sweet little dress my five year old used to fit a long time ago, gave her some water and a banana and tried to figure out what the heck to do! She was thirsty, hungry but calm.
In the end her mother was tracked down and she was safely united with her baby but the horror of what had happened chilled me all day. I was shaking for hours afterward. Anyone could have picked her up, she could have wondered so much farther, there is a busy road so close and she was so tiny and naked. She was very calm and snuggly the whole time she was with us which was a blessing and we only had her for about half an hour before her mother was found but moments like this make me realize how easy it is to slip up. It cements my wanting to try to be a more aware, more careful mama. So today we went to some wetlands and the children played in water, played with rocks and climbed up tree roots and just had some fun. They also watched a lot of TV and had multiple cool baths. I also cut off all my five year old's blonde curls.She has been wanting a short hair cut for a long time and it was hard for me but I knew how much it meant to her. She looks adorable. Today my sweet ones were happy and safe and I was thankful for them, thankful that WE found the baby and no one else, and that her dog so carefully protected her. What a morning! What a day.
And onwards we go.
All this hair is cut off at her ears now :) She is adorable but I miss her blonde curls so much. I'll post more pictures of her another day.
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