"Daddy, don't hit me!!"

Tonight at the video store, I witnessed the most tragic scene. A family of four wandered around the store, the parents discussing video options. Two little kids, a boy and a girl, solemnly followed behind. The boy had a knit cap on, as well as his hoodie. Strangely, the dad was holding the hoodie up over the boy's forehead. Suspicious, I watched the family. Something didn't seem right. As the parents became more engaged in their conversation, the little boy ran off. When he came back, his hoodie slipped back enough for me to see two large bruises on the side of his face. Holding back tears, I struggled to maintain my composure. While I "browsed", I tried to figure out what to do. Picking up "She's the Man", and pretending to read the back, I heard the boy say, "Daddy, don't hit me!" and then he was hushed. My suspicions confirmed, I thought of what I might do. I couldn't stand by and do nothing.

Bob soon joined me and I told him what I'd seen and heard. As we walked around, we heard the boy's plea again. There was no hitting, but it was obvious that it was a common occurrence. We checked out, and then decided to wait in our car to see which car the family left in. I hoped that I could catch the license plate number. After waiting for twenty minutes, we saw the family leave the store. As they walked through the parking lot, we soon realized that they didn't have a car there. We followed them for a few blocks in our car, then realized that we couldn't anymore because they were headed away from the busy shopping area and they would see that they were being followed.

I still wish I could have done something more for those kids. I didn't know what I could have done. I wish I'd had something I could have given the woman... something that could have encouraged her or given her some resources. What I really wanted to do was to take that little boy home with us. This reignited my desire to one day be a foster parent to kids who need a safe place to be between their unhappy homes and their future adopted home situation. I feel such a strong pull to work with these kids. Perhaps after I've finished school and before we have our family, we'll have the opportunity to take in a child and provide a safe loving home for them. We'll have to see. :)