The Nightmare That Never Ended
The very idea of parents, guardians, and caregivers consciously and willfully committing acts of violence towards the children they are responsible for protecting and nurturing seems like a distant and foreign concept to most but it is a sad fact in our society. “In 2012, state agencies found an estimated 686,000 victims of child maltreatment. This would pack 10 modern football stadiums.”(1) What do you do when you bare witness to such atrocity? How is one supposed to deal with such an outrageous situation?
The room was filled with hot steamy air. The humidity a welcome relief after a long day of homeschooling a three year old while waiting hand and foot on a ten month old. The steam, the five minutes …show more content…
He saw me and defensively declared “He wouldn’t rinse his mouth.” I thought “okay so what’s the big deal?” but opted for a shrug. Moving along I maneuvered between my husband and the bed attempting to make my way over to my hysterical child. I was thoroughly annoyed at this point and was prepared to give my son the, just do what you 're asked, speach. When I crouched down on the floor next to him I saw his face. There was utter terror in his eyes. His entire face was engulfed in a fire engine red color with tears streaming in all directions down his swollen cheeks and puffy face. I asked “What is happening here?” and he responded, beginning to well up with tears again, “heeee beeeeed meeee!” “He what?” I said, “Stop crying I can’t understand you.” He yelled, in an attempt to hold back a fit of hysterics, “He bleed me in the face and I’m WET!” I shot an accusing glance at my husband and he exclaimed, “He wouldn’t rinse his mouth so I forced rinsed it and spanked him” I had not assessed the situation thoroughly, I couldn 't comprehend what my son was accusing my husband of. I could not process my husband 's confession. I felt sick. I felt scared. I felt anger. Above all, I felt confused. This had to be a terrible dream, there was no other explanation. Instantly, I felt my blood pressure rising. The anger was fierce and building up fast. I attempted to gain control of the situation, calmly and rationally. Pointing at the
The very idea of parents, guardians, and caregivers consciously and willfully committing acts of violence towards the children they are responsible for protecting and nurturing seems like a distant and foreign concept to most but it is a sad fact in our society. “In 2012, state agencies found an estimated 686,000 victims of child maltreatment. This would pack 10 modern football stadiums.”(1) What do you do when you bare witness to such atrocity? How is one supposed to deal with such an outrageous situation?
The room was filled with hot steamy air. The humidity a welcome relief after a long day of homeschooling a three year old while waiting hand and foot on a ten month old. The steam, the five minutes …show more content…
He saw me and defensively declared “He wouldn’t rinse his mouth.” I thought “okay so what’s the big deal?” but opted for a shrug. Moving along I maneuvered between my husband and the bed attempting to make my way over to my hysterical child. I was thoroughly annoyed at this point and was prepared to give my son the, just do what you 're asked, speach. When I crouched down on the floor next to him I saw his face. There was utter terror in his eyes. His entire face was engulfed in a fire engine red color with tears streaming in all directions down his swollen cheeks and puffy face. I asked “What is happening here?” and he responded, beginning to well up with tears again, “heeee beeeeed meeee!” “He what?” I said, “Stop crying I can’t understand you.” He yelled, in an attempt to hold back a fit of hysterics, “He bleed me in the face and I’m WET!” I shot an accusing glance at my husband and he exclaimed, “He wouldn’t rinse his mouth so I forced rinsed it and spanked him” I had not assessed the situation thoroughly, I couldn 't comprehend what my son was accusing my husband of. I could not process my husband 's confession. I felt sick. I felt scared. I felt anger. Above all, I felt confused. This had to be a terrible dream, there was no other explanation. Instantly, I felt my blood pressure rising. The anger was fierce and building up fast. I attempted to gain control of the situation, calmly and rationally. Pointing at the