Forget Me Not

 

How forgetful can someone be?

Just to warn you, this post is definitely a rant, born out of my reaction to something I saw from Facebook. I think when you read what happened you will get upset too.

I was on Facebook the other day scrolling through my news feed and did a double take on a friend's status. She wrote: “finds it hard to believe that it's possible to forget your child's birthday. This happened to someone I know today. One of their parents forgot and laughed about it. They said it happens all the time. That's sad.” My response: “I'm with you, how could you forget your child's bday, if you care about them?”

A few days after that, I was still churning this around in my head. A parent forgetting their own child's birthday?! What? Seriously? And they just shrugged and laughed it off ummm excuse me what?

I am forgetful about a lot of things. Do I sometimes put the cereal in the fridge and the milk in the cabinet? Yes it's happened once or twice. Walk into a room and forget why, call a friend with something to tell them and then have no idea what? Guilty. But forget my child's birthday, never. Take away the love and attachment, how could you forget such a huge experience such as giving birth? It certainly is no walk in the park even with an epidural. I remember vividly the days my two children came into this world.

We all claim to have mommy brain sometimes, I know I suffer from it. Yes I believe it is a legitimate problem but I digress. Do you think mommy brain would cause you to forget your child's birthday? I didn't think so. What in the world could be going through these people's brains that they forget the day a new life was brought into this world?

The area I live in is very busy, both parents usually work and kids are overloaded with extra curricular activities. Nannies are common and spending time with your child seems like another job for some of these parents. Sadly, I feel like a lot of the children around here were born to satisfy the “what we should do” mentality, marry and procreate. I feel for that child. It's happened to me, and maybe that is why it struck a nerve with me. Although my shun came when I was older and from my father who has never really been there for me. I understand him forgetting to a degree because he doesn't care. But if you claim to care about your child how could you do that? Children eventually grow up, and one day they will look back and realize how they were treated by their parents. I want my children to know that I made them a priority in my life, not just another item on my to-do list.

Ok, I will step off my soapbox… for now. I would love your input, what do you think about this situation? Do you empathize with these parents or do you think they need some serious help before they further damage their children?