this happened earlier in the week but it's still bugging me. on wednesday, i think it was, i took Older Brother's kids to the community pool to escape the second-floor unairconditioned apartment. we had a good time; it was the first time in at least a year that i've been swimming. the youngest girls had a blast, they're just learning to swim; they're almost not afraid of being in the water without swimmies.

so after the pool, we all went to my house for grilled cheese sandwiches and soup (thanks mom!) and my brother picked everyone up later. as they were getting ready to leave (around 10:00), they found the little girl next door wandering around on the sidewalk, apparently locked out of her house. this child is about three years old. she shouldn't even be awake at that hour, let alone wandering. she said her mother was asleep. so Older Brother called the police.

i understand that accidents can happen to the best of parents of course. this was not the first time we've seen this happen. the first time this little girl wandered down by the highway and a stranger, may he forever be blessed, brought her back. she routinely comes outside half-dressed, she stays on the deck by herself...it's a big family in the house next door. there's no dad (actually by my count there are at least three different dads and none of them are around), the oldest girl doesn't live there anymore, the next oldest is maybe 15, then a boy of maybe 10, a girl about 7, and the baby. i'm fairly sure that the mother is an alcoholic.

so what do you do in situations like that? when i find her cat in my yard i just bring it back, but this is a child we're talking about. if Older Brother hadn't called the police, i would have had to. and the best part of this: when he told the dispatcher that there was a little girl wandering the sidewalk alone, they asked, "do you want to see an officer?" well no, i just wanted to let you know that there's a toddler wandering the streets all night. idiots. so the police came and the mother answered the door and said, "what are you doing out here? i thought you were asleep." to which the girl replied "no, you were asleep."

so the police called child protective services and they're going to get involved. at least there's that. it just makes me so angry to see children being treated that way. that little girl didn't ask to be born, much less born into a family like that. i just want to go over and hug her and tell her that i'll be her mother. it makes me heartsick to see a child unhappy.

"having children makes you no more a parent than having a piano makes you a pianist."

-michael levine

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