But It's Not Too Late for Her "Kids"

I went to a funeral this week. It was for a 49-year-old mother of seven, grandmother of eight that I know of. When her oldest five kids were little, I wanted to show them a different way of life. They may have had love from their mother, but not much else. I took them out to eat, to sports events, to the Science Center, to my house for sleep-overs.... I cared a lot about their futures and wanted to be a positive influence on their poverty-burdened lives.

They are all in their 20s and 30s now. Two are in jail on drug charges. One is in the hospital. Two are MIA addicts. Only two of the seven kids were there. The fourth-oldest greeted me with a long, tight hug. He had made -- and has to pay -- all the funeral arrangements on his own.

At least he was there. And I was there. And some of the grandkids were there. But the chapel was mostly empty. None of the deceased's six brothers and sisters were there. No nieces. No nephews. Few friends.

The woman OD'd last week. So there she lay, abandoned by those supposed to be her loved ones. Pale and thin. Drugs destroyed her. I pray her kids will learn from this so their mom's death will not be in vain. I wept and said good bye.