echoes

as i sat in the dark tonight nursing willow to sleep, i heard echoes of some of the things that were said to or about us or our children during this last legislative session. not nice things. ugly things. hurtful things. things that leave me feeling depressed, again.

shall i share how terrible people can be? 

"how can you support this bill, it's just a lump of tissue." this one was said to someone who was there *with us* to support the bill and our efforts. all i could think was . . . it is a good thing she didn't say it to me. my comeback, "my son was no more a lump of tissue than you are right this minute." that's me being nice.

"i've had one of these." this was said by the chair of a committee. a state senator. i don't know anyone who had actually delivered a stillborn child who would refer to their child as "one of these."

"i am having a hard time with the idea of giving a birth certificate to something that was never alive." oh yeah. nice, huh? uttered by the very same state senator. you know, the one who had "one of these." nevermind that the state doesn't actually dispute whether or not Jesper was alive. and that that isn't the issue we have at all. "something"?  i just don't have the words . . . . . . 

nice bunch of folks, don't you think? warms the heart just a little bit, right?

admittedly, part of me wants to say that they are simply ignorant or misinformed or confused. i don't want to believe people can be so heartless, unfeeling, harsh, or cold. 

all i know for sure is that the echoes are making me sad tonight.