Just say OM

Have you heard about these Southern California parents who are considering suing their school because...wait for it...the children are getting FREE yoga lessons!!

Oh the humanity!

According to the Chronicle, these parents believe the tax-payer funded yoga classes are indoctrinating their children into Hinduism and is thus unconstitutional.

These parents are ridiculous.

Yoga is no more indoctrinating these children into Hinduism as eating sushi is turning me Japanese. The benefits these children are likely gaining from learning to still themselves, breathe and stretch surely outweigh any possibility that they may want to learn more about the Hindu religion.

I think these parents should embrace the lessons learned from this alternative form of exercise, which hopefully will stay with these kids throughout their lives.

And maybe they can teach their parents to just take a deep breath and relax.

Would you want to know?

In an amazing twist, the remains of one of the victims of the Speed Freak serial Killers also contained a tiny bone fragment. And tests are being done to see if the tiny bone is that of missing Hayward nine year old Michaela Garecht. The little girl disappeared back on November 19, 1988. I remember her disappearance because she was about my age at the time.

Someone asked me if I was Michaela's parent, would I want that bone fragment to be hers? And without missing a beat, I said yes.

Because finally, the question about what happened to my little girl would finally be answered.

Of course I would have to let go of the hope. The hope that was reinforced with stories like Jaycee Lee Dugard, who was found alive 18 years after being kidnapped.

But what would also end would be the uncertainty and the frightening images created in my mind of what could be happening to my child if she was still alive. Was she being tortured?  Raped?

I'm sure the dream all parents of kidnapped children have is just to wrap their arms around them, look into their eyes and see a light...a recollection of what life was like before a monster tore them apart.

But if that is not possible, I have to believe that an answer to what happened to my child and the ability to bury whatever small part is left in this world is a small consolation to the tragedy I hope never to experience.

A parent's worst nightmare

I don't think there are news stories I hate more than when children are killed. And it is worse when the death is an accident and the actual parent plays a role.

Like the father that thinks he is shooting an intruder who turns out to be his son, the three year old who accidentally shoots himself after finding his father's gun or the child left to die in a hot car after a parent forgets to drop her off at daycare.

These are horrible mistakes that have tragic consequences.

So what kind of punishment should these parents receive for being responsible for their child's death? 

I say nothing.

No jail time, no prison, no death sentence. 

Because there is NO punishment worse than knowing you had a hand in your child's death. That is a nightmare these parents have to live with for the rest of their lives. And a guilt I believe no one can imagine.

Sadly, these parents can also not fully escape the judgement of the often cruel public who can stare with eyes of blame and constant questions of "how could you?" 

And I'm sure these parents see and hear the same thing every time they look in the mirror.

The father-daughter tradition

Have you heard about this Rhode Island school district that banned father daughter dances after a single mother complained?  The woman says holding the dance discriminates against her daughter because she doesn't have a father figure to take her.

Then the ACLU apparently jumped in saying in the 21st century, schools should not have father daughter dances or mother son baseball games because that is playing into stereotypical gender roles.

Give me a break.

This all started because the father daughter dance is a physical example for the mother of what went wrong with the man who fathered her child.  I'm not saying it is her fault.  Maybe he died, maybe he lives far away...whatever the case, it is a sad situation made worse when things like father daughter dances come around.

But that doesn't mean that the tradition should be eliminated. 

I had a blast at my father daughter dance with my dad.  One year, we even won a trophy.  He still tells the story of how I wore combat boots with my dress and kept flipping my hair around as I danced.  It's something neither of us will forget. 

And what about girls who look forward to possibly the one night all year they have their dad all to themselves? One night where maybe a significant conversation could be had about how a man should treat a woman or that she can be anything in this world?

The father daughter relationship is one not to be taken lightly.  How a woman allows herself to be treated can be influenced by the first man in her life.  I feel sorry for those that don't know what that is like.  But I also don't believe special moments should be sacrificed for the few that unfortunately and for whatever reason can't participate.