Ultimate Bullies: 5 Teens Set 15-Year-Old Boy On Fire & More
I’m not sure what’s going on these days, but I’m so tired of hearing horrific stories of teen-on-teen violence. As a single mother of a teenaged boy, my heart goes out to this boy and his mother:
Allegedly five teens, ages 13-15, set 15-year-0ld Michael Brewer on fire after dowsing him with rubbing alcohol.
I’ve heard some sick things in my life–but this has to be one of the worse things I’ve ever heard.
In West Palm Beach, Florida, a place where life is supposed to be good, some unspeakable things happened to a then 35-year-old single mother and her 12-year-old son two years ago: The single mom was first gang-raped and sodomized by as many as 10 teenages during a home invasion robbery; then, the teens took it a step further and forced the mom to have oral sex with her own son at gun point.
Now, I’m not judging the mother because one never knows how they will react in a situation, but I don’t think that I would have cooperated–they would have had to kill me.
Why? Well, can you imagine how that will affect the mother-son relationship for life? Sexual bounderies between a parent and child should never be crossed under any circumstance becuase it will have long-lasting mental, emotional and physical ramifications that may be hard to overcome and will, undoubtedly, affect other relationships going forward.
One of the accused has pleaded guilty–and, like the others, faces up to 11 life sentences, plus 50 years–and the others are going to trial:
Read the full story and post your comments:
Happy New Year (and, Happy Birthday to me!) Yup! I’m one of those unfortunate holiday babies–but for the first time, in a long while, my mom actually remembered to call me for my birthday (without me having to remind her, like I do everyone else. I chock it up to alcohol-induced parties from the night before and not that people don’t love me–well, at least it makes me feel better:)
Like most people–I usually make resolutions, only to lose steam before Valentine’s day. Not this year. This year, I’m not making a single resolution; instead, I’m just setting goals–small, do-able goals. Nothing fancy or too grand to accomplish. For instance, one of my goals will be to excercise three times a week (one (1) weekday and Saturday and Sunday), which is much more realistic for my single mom lifestyle.
Here’s is a list of my top goals for 2008:
(1) Spend more quality time with my son, if he lets me.
Since he’s teenager (15), he’s not spending too much time with mommy; most of his time goes to the fabulous PS3 I bought him for x-mas, his sports and his friends–go figure!
(2) Adopt a child, preferably a girl.
I’ve got the kid, who’s going off to college in two years–and, I’m not ready to give up on motherhood–heck, I’m not even 40 yet. But, most of all, I really enjoy motherhood–it has been the most fulfilling thing I’ve ever done, and I still have a lot of love to give. I’ve already initated the process, so I’ll keep you posted on how the adoption process goes, especially for a single mother.
(3) Respect God’s Temple
Besides excercising three (3) days per week, I also want to try to drink more water and eat more veggies. I’ve had a host of minor health-related issues that I’m determined to avoid this year.
(4) Blog more often.
For some reason, I feel really good when I blog. Maybe it has something to do with having some alone time and a purpose; whatever the case, I really enjoy the connection with people and words, so I need to find the time to do it more often. Today starts my 30 posts in 30 days challenge.
(5) Be more social.
I’m not a social butterfly, but I think I need to be. I do enjoy other folks company–just not all the time. However, I do really value the relationships I have in my life. So, I need to show it by spending time with the people that I love. And, that’s what I aim to do.
(6) Pay off my car.
I’m determined to pay off my car by June. I’ve started looking for a job that pays more money and for positions within my organizationm where I can make more money. I’m already earning extra money with my side hustles. But I also want to pay off my house in five years, so I know I’ll at least be working five more years and need a bigger paycheck to make that happen. Also, I’ve cut out a lot of unnecessary spending –and guess what? I feel a sense of accomplishment that is unreal.
These aren’t all of my 2008 goals, of course, but enough, for now.
So, what are your goals for 2008?
NO Single Mama Drama 