Ooops...

Last night at the restaurant, a mom came in with her baby in a carrier, and in her haste she bumped it- pretty hard- on the stools on the way by. Thankfully, baby was sound asleep and had no idea she had just been jostled. I wondered why this mom was in such a hurry, and how she could be so careless with her newborn. But, after some chatting, she revealed her current personal situation, and I could see where her stress was coming from. I wanted to help, but could only offer a listening ear, which seemed like enough. After some coffee and pie, she was able to leave more slowly and seemed a little more settled. It simply illustrates- over and over- that you can never really know at a glance what's going on in people's lives, and what influences their behavior and reactions. And even the most attentive moms can have moments of inattentiveness when the going gets tough.
This makes me think of Brittney Spears and her current situation. From the outside, we see all these crazy things she's doing. We see only what the media allows us to, which isn't pretty. But do we really know the whole story? As a mother, is she really any different than the rest of us? Should she be held to higher standards just because of her social status? No- nobody should be partying to the point of neglecting their children. Safety should always be our first concern with our kids. But could you, in a moment of incredible stress, make one of the same mistakes she has made recently with her boys? And what has she done, really? I only hear vague allegations of neglect, but what was it really? Has anyone considered post-partum psychosis? I hope, truly, that she receives whatever support, treatment, and care she needs to come through this time in her life.