Parenting License REVOKED!

Ok...so here's the deal.

With all of the talk in the news lately about "Harambe the Gorilla" and the "neglectful parents" of the little boy, it's got me to thinkin'.

Yes...I feel awful about Harambe being shot and killed. Whenever I see his picture, the first word that comes to mind is REGAL. He was a BEAUTIFUL creature. Strong. Intelligent. Majestic. Interestingly, I've never once looked at him and thought, "Dangerous." Yet I know that because he was an animal, we had no way of getting into his mind to know what he was thinking, so to most onlookers, "Dangerous" was the only word that came to their minds. I get it.

Of course, in the grand scheme of things, human life is to be regarded more highly than the life of an animal, so I understand why it was deemed necessary to kill Harambe in order to save the child. As I write these words I can ASSURE you that had that been one of MY babies in the gorilla habitat WITH the gorilla, not knowing WHAT the gorilla was going to do...I would have wanted EVERY protective measure taken to save the life of MY child...even if it meant (unfortunately) killing the animal.

So here we are, days later and the "fingers of blame" are flying...toward the parents. One of whom wasn't even AT the zoo when the incident took place. Why he, and his criminal history are being called on the carpet, simply baffles me. But that's another post for a different day.

Back to "the blame game."

Now I've gotta admit...when I first heard the story, my initial reaction was, "How in the heck did the boy climb in? Wasn't anybody watching him?" I actually had that thought for a couple of days. Then I realized that sometimes...things just happen. Not intentionally, but when you are dealing with young children...and especially when there are more than one...sometimes...things just happen. And no one is to blame.

So my mind took a lil trip down memory lane. Back to a time when my son was maybe three years old, and my girls were older...five and eight years older. That would've put them at eight and eleven.

We're out shopping, just me and the kiddos, and as we get to the register to pay, I tell the girls, "Watch your brother." This didn't mean that I was leaving them to go somewhere else in the store...I just knew that I'd be dealing with the cashier and getting the purchase squared away, so I needed an extra set of eyes (in this case there were TWO sets), to watch the little one.

My transaction was done and I said, "Ok. Let's go." When I looked next to me (where ALL of my kiddos SHOULD HAVE been), there were only TWO...the girls. My three year old son was GONE...no where in sight.

Of course, I panicked. We started looking all over the store and calling his name. No response. We continued to look and...as it happens in the movies...I found his shoe. ONE SHOE. All by itself...just ONE SHOE.

Now if you've ever seen a movie where a child has been kidnapped, you know how this goes. ONE thing is always left behind. A blanket. A toy. A SHOE.

My heart raced even FASTER. WHERE WAS MY BABY?!?

Security came to help us look. It was an all out search!

Then...I hear this tiny little voice. A familiar little voice.

"Mommy."

I ran toward the voice, and there he was...my baby was in the middle of one of the circular clothing racks with a toy that he must've found somewhere in the store. He probably thought (or knew) that I would say, "Put that back," so he just took it upon himself to find a nice quiet place to go play.

Such a relief! To find my baby boy safe and sound was an absolute blessing and relief.

After that, I kept a much closer eye on him when we were out, but that incident simply reminds me of how quickly and easily a child can get out of one's sight.

Was I a neglectful parent because I lost my son in the store? Many of the "Harambe Gorilla Supporters" and even those who thought it was okay to shoot, but still find fault in the parents, would say that I was. I should have been the PERFECT parent...NEVER EVER EVER letting my child out of my sight.

Well folks, what can I say..."Stuff" happens. It happened to me. It happened to the mother of the little boy in the gorilla habitat. It happens.

Now...Let's move on and Let the DIALOGUE begin: Have you ever gotten stuck in a place where you shouldn't have been?

Talk to me!

Til next time...