I was doing a bit of blog-hopping today and landed here where I read until I was too choked up to read anymore. This woman lost her daughter (who looks not much older than mine) just recently. She also has a younger daughter (not much older than my son). It is absolutely heartwrenching.  It was one of those moments when my heart seizes with the realization that the same thing could so easily happen to me.  The panic that follows is almost paralyzing.  I’m not a terribly overprotective mother but in those moments I want to hold my children close and never let them out of my sight for a second.  But the truth is that we all take those chances.  Every day we take chances.  Certain risks are expected of us by society, like allowing our kids to go to school alone for the first time.  Others are personal choices, wise or unwise - step out of the bathroom for a minute while they’re in the bath, run inside to grab the phone when they are playing in the back yard, leave them in the car for a minute when we dash into the store.  My God, the possibilities for tragedy are endless.

I have often said that with all that takes place to “build” a human being in utero it is amazing that any children are born without defects. That most of us are born with all our parts in order seems astonishingly unlikely.  But that so many of us make it through life without a fatal disaster, disease or accident befalling us seems equally unlikely.  Tragedy is so pervasive.  How do we make it through a day in one piece?  Call it luck, karma, God, it is still amazing.  We try to make good choices as parents but sometimes that isn’t enough to protect our children and sometimes we don’t succeed in making good choices.  What can we do?  I guess we hope for the best, try to do better, and when someone else is the unlucky one we hold them and comfort them and remind ourselves to do the best we can and pray that next time it won’t be us.