Monday, November 05, 2012

Tragedy.

On Halloween night a group of local teens had a party.  There was a lot of alcohol.  One girl decided to walk home, and never made it.  The next morning a neighbor went to start his car and found her in the snow.  Despite the best efforts of all the medical personnel, she did not survive.

I don't know what all the details are.  I have no idea what anyone was thinking, or why she walked home alone.  Here is what I DO know:

She was 15.
There was drinking.
She was alone in the snow.
She is dead.

I am so angry I don't even like to think about the situation.
I am angry at her friends.   I talk to my students CONSTANTLY about "making smart choices" and "taking care of your friends".  Yet somehow this child (because at 15, you are still a child) was left alone.  No, I am not blaming the other kids.  God knows they will have their own nightmares and demons to deal with.  But I'm still angry with them.
I am heart-wrenchingly furious at her parents/guardians.  They let her go out, Wednesday night, and did not do their job.  As a parent, you have one major responsibility:  Keep that kid safe and alive.  They failed.  I don't care if it hurts to hear it, if your daughter (or son) does not come home at night, you damn well go find them.  You do NOT wait for the hospital to finally figure out who the frozen corpse is, so they can call you.  Yes I am judging them.  Yes, I realize I'm not nice.  I don't care.  I'd rather have teens alive than be nice.

Hug your babies, tell them you love them, and don't be afraid to make hard choices for them.  It's okay if they hate you for a few years, so long as they are still alive.

2 comments:

♥ Gloria said...

Amen to that Tammy!!!! So SAD!!! I always tell my kids ... you don't have to like me, I'm not here to be your friend, but your parent ... to teach you the things in life that will give you the best opportunity to live it well! Life is hard enough, we need to step up as parents & teach our kids something! Be engaged ... LOVE them ... even when they don't want it!

Crystal said...

I agree. It is NOT our job as parents or teachers to be "nice". What a horrible, sad loss that could have been avoided.

I'm not looking forward to having five teenagers. And I know they will each hate me at some time for some reason because I don't plan to be "nice". I plan to unconditionally love, teach and discipline them so they come out of it alive and smart enough to make good choices as adults, because that's my job.