I don't know how many of you watched Oprah yesterday, which was about Brenda Nesselroad-Slaby, the mother who left her 2 year old little girl in a car all day on a hot August day last year. Very quickly - her husband brought their two children to preschool every day, but this particular day he had a doctors appointment. Breaking her usual routine, Brenda (an assistant principal) stopped at a local donut shop to buy donuts for the staff. She left the donut shop and went onto the road that led to her school. Because this was her normal routine, she totally and completely forgot about her little girl in her back seat. It was the first day back for the teachers, and she had a list a mile long of things she needed to do and complete that day. Tragically, her daughter did not survive.
I remember when this story first came out last year, and I remember many of the responses from our friends being of shock and anger - HOW could a mother do this? HOW could you ever forget about your BABY?? And I remember being a new and frazzled mom, thinking to myself, Am I the only one who thinks this could happen to me? Moms are sleep deprived, trying to do it all - cook dinner, clean the house, work or stay at home, grocery shop, send out birthday presents, thank you notes, plan birthday parties, attend birthday parties, catch up with girlfriends, be a present wife and mother, spend time with extended family. We want to do it all. Be the perfect mother, wife, girlfriend, daughter. Yes, I can definitely see how something like this can happen.
I think it's important that we as women, slow down. Ask for help, if needed. And realize that we just can't possibly do everything on our own.
Normally with TFT, I leave the post with a question, but I just can't think of one. I just hope that we are able to learn from this poor woman, who was trying to do it all...
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6 comments:
Amen! I sometimes have to stop and realize that life is NOT A RACE!!!
I can't imagine that happening to me, but even if A&E aren't with me I find myself checking the backseat and when I leave the house with them I check and make sure I remembered them both. I have never forgotten them but I am paranoid about going through the motions and forgetting.
Great Post! I completely agree! It's so hard now days to fit everything in and we all just need to go through and prioritize to make time for the most important things in life and most importantly to make time for ourselves.
I know it may not be on completely the same level, but I find myself double checking the room to make sure I didn't leave the dogs tied up outside! It's so easy to get busy and just go through the motions.
i tivo'd that episode. hope to watch it soon.
i don't think any of us can imagine what that mother feels like - but we hope to god, we are never in her position. ever. i feel for her. her auto-pilot cost her her child.
interesting post!
OK.. I LOATHE Oprah, but since I was playing mommy (and it was the only station they had) I actually saw this episode and I'm sure I was one of those people who said "how could she do that?" but I can totally see.. one day of babysitting and I'm a new woman ;)
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