What A Sad Day

What a sad day.  All day I have watched the horrible events of the Terri Schiavo case unfold, then I see the story of the little girl in Florida.  Everytime I see one of these stories I hold my children a little bit closer.  I am sometimes overly protective of my children, but I wonder if it is really possible to be TOO protective when it comes to your children.  It is such a hard balance.  You want them to be careful and aware of danger, but you don't want to scare them to death.  You want to watch them every second, but you want to give them enough independence that they can grow.  It is just so hard.

A few years ago, we learned that a man in our neighborhood, that we had known for close to a decade, was exposing himself to little girls who walked past his house.  We had no clue that he was that kind of person.  He had no record.  He was a nice, quiet, friendly married retiree who was one of the last people we would have ever expected to do such a thing.  Thankfully, he moved away and now is a registered sex offender.  It made us suspicious of absolutely everyone we had ever met, though.  Maybe that is a good thing.  Now we are more protective than we otherwise would have been.  When I see stories like the one of Jessica Lunsford today I am so sad, but so thankful at the same time that I am not that parent.  What a sad, sad day. 

UPDATE: The Anchoress has some words for those discouraged by the sad turn of events in the Terri Schiavo case.

UPDATE (3/21 @ 1:30):  Michelle Malkin links to additional disturbing details.  It is reported that Jessica may have been held for a day or two before she was killed.  She was buried within sight of her home, where a command and control center was set up, so it is hard for me to understand exactly how that would be possible.  This is a very disturbing case.  More from Chris Short here.

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