Haven't felt....

 

...much like blogging since last Sunday. I love Sundays. I love to sit in my favorite spot on my comfy couch and get lost in the Sunday paper while Emma and Robert make pancakes. As i read my Sunday paper, i literally count my blessings. I give thanks and praise and listen to Robert and Emma giggle in the kitchen as they make pancakes.

To me, it's a perfect way to start Sundays.

Except for last Sunday when i read in the paper about the little girl who lives nearby in Mt. Juliet who was apparently killed by her mother. I think that this story stuck me to my core because this little four year old girl, adopted from China, had only been in her "forever" home since April of this year. The mother, who is a well-known pediatrician, is charged with first degree murder and 7 or 8 (really, what difference does it matter if it was 1, 7 or 100?!?) charges of child abuse. The father was also charged with many counts of abuse and other things. This couple's eight year old daughter had apparently witnessed much of the abuse on her sister and now herself is in a foster home.

So much for "forever family" in this case, eh?

Here in Nashville, there are many adoptive parents. We are also so close to so many agencies like the Vanderbilt International Adoption Clinic, and many adoptive family support groups. There are also many local churches that have adoption support groups. Help is out there for those who need help. There are also groups who help with children who may have issues. I know that it is hard to ask for help. I hate having to ask a friend to watch Emma when i have an errand that i can't take her to. I would hate to think that anyone would ever think that i couldn't handle my life. But when it comes to Emma, my daughter, i don't take a chance. If i have a question, her pediatrician is a call away as is her staff. My friend are only a call away if i need to talk. I know when i need to vent. I understand that my venting to my friends or calling Emma's pediatrician is much different than child abuse...but i would hope that a pediatrician as this adoptive mother was, would know where to reach out for help. If not for her, then for her newly adoptive daughter.

I guess what i'm trying to say is that this little child, this little child who is only a year older than Emma, didn't have to die. It is heartbreaking to me that this little one had a life with such sorrow and ended in fatal abuse at the hands of a couple who adopted her. A couple who was suppose to love her, care for her, help her grow up.

A little child is dead. A mother is charged in her death. A father is charged with multiple child abuse and child endangerment counts. Their other daughter, who is eight years old, is now in a foster home.

This didn't have to happen.

And i'm terribly heartbroken that it did.