I wanted to share the rant I posted earlier on facebook after reading comments from both strangers and “friends” of mine on many posts today that shared the news of the young man who shot himself.

**update: I just read that this child did not not die (Thank God) however, my sentiments are still the same.***
“I was reading an article about the 7th grader who shot himself in Ohio. The comments were seriously disturbing. I cannot imagine the grief of his parents and then, this world we live in is so quick to judge and cast blame on them with disgusting comments and complete disregard to their suffering of the loss of their child.
As a world, we have become desensitized, overly critical and obnoxious when it comes to the affairs of others when we have things in our own homes and communities that deserve more of our time and attention than jumping online to sit high and look down casting judgement at people who are already guilt ridden and grieving.”

This was a child.. two parents.. possibly siblings.. grandparents.. aunts/uncles.. cousins.. extended family.. friends.. and classmates have all suffered a loss and as a country and world we act without sympathy and I am disturbed!

I know the topic of gun control is hot and heavy but we cannot become so consumed with politics and sharing our unwarranted opinions without actions that we forget to have some compassion.
I do agree that a middle school age child should not have had access to a gun however I do not know if it was from his home or elsewhere to put that blame on his parents.

People said ” the parents should have known he had issues”.. someone bottle up what that looks like and share it with us.
Is it the kid who like to play on their own, should we have them evaluated?
Or it the child who is overly outgoing and seeks to be liked by everyone, should we have them evaluated?
What about the child who thrives on accolades and being “the best, should they be evaluated?
There is not a one size fits all situation.

Think about when you were a child and someone hurt your feelings, did you always share it with your parents? When you failed a test, did you run home waving the paper to share? How about your first heartbreak, were you overly excited to pour out your heart? Children will share what they want to share.

Children just like adults will go through some things, some they will share and some they will not. Our responsibilities as adults & parents include; keeping open communication, make sure the child feels loved and pray for them babies without ceasing!
I am not implying that this child’s parents did not do some or all of these things, I am simply reminding folks that no-one is perfect and we can all be better.

One of my continuous prayer requests for our Munch (our niece) whose mother is not in her life is that she never feels like she was somehow at fault for the decisions of her mother.
I can’t even tell y’all how many nights I have laid in bed and cried when she has asked us tough questions about her mother and why she never sees her siblings.
When she first went to school and they would talk about mothers this and that and she would be sad or say something like ” I wish my mom was here” and my heart would break for her.

My brother, husband and I are very open and honest with her with age appropriate answers to her questions, mindful never to speak negatively about her mother, instead assure her that her dad (and us) was and is better equipped to take care of her and she’s okay with that.

She is more than enough and more than deserving of all the love we bestow upon her.

At 10 years old, her spirit is so amazing, she is so loving and attuned to the needs of those less fortunate and every darn animal.
All we can do is continue to pray that as she grows into her teenage years that she keeps that same spirit and never becomes bitter or angry from her mother’s absence.

But say that she does become bitter and starts to act out, does that negate all the love we have poured into her? All the open communication and prayers? Of course not.

The point is; we do not know this child’s home life nor how he got to this point. Let’s hug, not judge. It takes a village to raise these babies!