I'm the bitch

I went to lunch with a co-worker yesterday and as we left and got in the car, a man who was eating at a table outside asked me to look in the car beside me and see if there was a kid in it. At first it didn't register, of course there was no kid in it, who does that? So, I look inside, sure enough there's a kid in a car seat maybe not quite two. **Edited to add that the windows were cracked, but I don't know if the car was locked, car was not running**

That's when the smoke started coming out of my ears.

Here's some background. It gets hot in Vegas. Like hell hot. Now, at this moment, it was only about 80 degrees. Not unbearable and certainly fine to be in the car with no air. BUT, every year the news people and the police do major stories and PSA's about never, ever leaving your kid alone in the car. In fact, they urge anyone who sees it to call the police immediately. We not only have issues with the heat, but we have issues with cars getting stolen (one of the highest theft rates in the country) and every year not only do kids die of heat stroke from getting left in cars, but they also end up in cars that are stolen and some of those kids don't make it back home. It's bad, and anyone with a brain knows better.

I know as kids, most of us were left in the car alone at some point, I know I was. But, people didn't use carseats and seatbelts then either. The point is that times are different and we all know better.

Back to my story.

So my co-worker sees that I am pissed as I march right back into the lunch place and yell from the door "Who left their kid in the car?" A woman in line, sheepishly says (certainly embarassed) "I did, but I'm watching her." I yell back, "You know it's not legal and beyond that it's stupid!" So, I'm pissed and I go back to my car and call 911.

I sit in the car talking with the 911 operator, who is clearly also mad, while she dispatches a car. I give her all the info including the plate number. I explain to her that I have a dead daughter and this is just really pissing me off, she agrees and I wait for the cops. The woman finally comes out and leaves as I'm telling the operator where she's going so a patrol car and find her.

At this point I'm on the verge of tears and shaking because I just can't deal with people who don't treat their children like the treasure they are. It just kills me. Oh and my co-worker, who is a 50 year old man with no children, thinks I'm about to lose it. I run a contruction company, there's no crying in contruction.

Within a few minutes a cop calls me back and asks for the story again and says that they are looking for her car and that they will call me if they need more info. I'm glad to see that they take this issue so seriously here. Like really glad.

So, I'm still pissed about the whole thing. The thing is that the woman is not necessarily a bad parent. We all make bad choices, she just made a really bad choice. I don't want her kid taken from her, I just want her to understand the severity of the choice she made. I hope they fine the shit out of her, send her to parenting classes and show her pictures of dead kids who were left in cars or murdered after they were kidnapped. I know that is awful, but the thing is that if she'll do it once, she'll do it again.

Maybe I made a big deal of something that I shouldn't have. Maybe it was overblown. But, the thing is that my kid was taken from me. I know what it's like to lose a child. It makes me physically ill to see people mistreat their kids. Children are such a gift. I wish everyone would treat them that way.