Peaches - Anyone else feeling humble...

[jennyh]

I'm not one to gossip about something this sad but the news of peaches geldof dying has just given me a massive kick up the ass to be so grateful every day. The poor family and those poor boys not to mention Peaches who will never experience her babies growing up. I usually avoid posting this kind of gushy stuff but its just really hit me, so devastating, she was so young too. :-( despite my daily stresses and struggles with my kids I am damn pleased I have them and they have me. Thought for the day.

[buggie]

After hearing the news, hugged my kids tighter at bedtime too.

Didn't follow her career, but she came to my attention last year when she did a good job of defending AP against Katie Hopkins on This Morning - she seemed do sorted & happy being a Mum & wife.

It's so sad that her sons will only know second hand how much she loved them.

[srisky]

Yes, me too. For me it's because two very young children will never have their own memories of their mother and also because she lost her own mum (and in the manner it happened) when young. As a mother, that strikes a double whammy chord. Other than these facts I know nothing else about her but I did hug my kids a bit tighter and for longer this evening.

[srisky]

Seems like I'm not the only one...!

[Saffron]

Another humbling/hold your children tighter moment: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2014/04/support-swells-for-single-mom-arrested-for-allegedly-leaving-kids-in-car/

Amanda Bishop doesn?t know Shanesha Taylor, the single mother who was arrested for allegedly leaving her kids in a car during a job interview, but she felt compelled to do something to help her.

?There are some of us that feel that Shanesha was in an unfortunate situation that, sadly, an economy like ours is putting many single mothers in a position to make terrible mistakes like this,? Bishop wrote on a fundraising page.

Taylor?s striking mug shot and her story have attracted more than $95,000 in donations, to date.

The Phoenix [Arizona] mom said she was unable to find a babysitter when she went to a job interview at an insurance company on March 21, and so she left her 2-year-old son and 6-month-old baby in the car with the key in the ignition and the windows cracked, the Associated Press reported.

A witness saw one of the children crying and alerted authorities, who arrested Taylor when she returned to her vehicle, the AP reported.

Taylor was released from jail on March 31 on $9,000 bond that was posted by a local church, according to an update on her fundraising page.

[Otta]

buggie Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Didn't follow her career, but she came to my

> attention last year when she did a good job of

> defending AP against Katie Hopkins on This Morning

> - she seemed do sorted & happy being a Mum &

> wife.

Hadn't seen that before, but now I've read about her and Hopkins *spits* I am a new fan. The news did make me sad the other day, sad for her kids and her poor dad, who has been through some real horrors.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/peaches-geldof-dead-the-moment-she-owned-katie-hopkins-on-this-morning-will-forever-go-down-in-tv-history-9245574.html

[RussianDoll]

This does seem a particularly sad case as she was so young. I know I didn't really think about dying until I had children and the thought of them growing up without me is just awful.

[bluesuperted]

I too became a fan when she stood up to Katie Hopkins and alerted many to the reality of Attachment Parenting (a teenager I met at a Christmas party asked me if I was an AP parent because she had seen Peaches' defense and been impressed and joined dots seeing me breastfeed baby in sling).

Felt sick to my core when I heard the news, those poor babies, not quite 2 and not quite 1. This tribute by Sarah Ockwell Smith is good:

http://www.bestdaily.co.uk/your-life/news/a563177/peaches-parenting-style-has-given-her-boys-the-best-start.html but it just breaks my heart to think of those boys wondering where on earth their mummy has gone. Touches a raw nerve in mothers/fathers as dying ourselves never seemed so terrifying as it does now you know who you'd be leaving behind...

[Otta]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-28438913

Heroin OD.

Sad because now loads of self righteous twats will judge her.

[Jeremy]

I don't mind being a self righteous twat on this one.

Pointless Z list sleb. The only noteworthy thing she ever did was to let her family down in the worst way possible.

[Otta]

Totally agree about the pointless Z List sleb bit, and of course she screwed up, but I wonder about her state of mind and mental health.

I think it's sad whichever way it's looked at.

[Jeremy]

It is tragic. I feel sorry for her kids, her husband, and her father, who must be going through unimaginable pain.

But I don't feel sorry for her. She of all people had absolutely no excuse for getting involved with hard drugs.

[Convex]

Addiction is difficult to beat. In AA they believe that you are an addict for life, regardless of whether you are sober at the time, if you see what I mean.

It doesn't matter whether you thought she was good at her job etc, this is just such a tragic story and begins before she was born with her mums issues.

I feel so sorry for her and her family.

[alice]

almost 1000 people did each year from heroin overdose - don't know how many are mothers

[alice]

about 1000 people die each year from a heroin overdose - don't know how many were mothers

[susyp]

plenty of parents die when their children are babies through cancer, accidents and the like. Yes i feel sorry for her family but no not so much for her, I just don't feel anything for her - having seen people be felled by cancer and know they will leave their young kids i can't feel anything for someone who takes the decision to take heroin when they are in sole charge of a baby. self righteous maybe but that's my feeling. Having been through a cancer battle myself when my little one was 6 months old i can't even cross the road now even on my own without a green man - just value every moment i have with her and refuse to take any risks! There is nothing worse than putting your baby to bed and knowing there is a real risk that you won't see them grow up. And for someone to play russian roulette like that is unbelievable to me. But i do appreciate that mental health is a fragile thing and that she could have had something else going on

[Otta]

The fact she was with her baby is the bit I find it hard to get my head around.

But then again, lots of us will have a few drinks after the kids are asleep, and it's not like she ws planning to die.

Anyway, feeling sorry for her is pointless now so sympathies for those left behind are more apt. Must have been horrible for her husband having to tell the inquest all that stuff.

[jennyh]

http://www.newstatesman.com/glosswitch/2014/07/motherhood-not-enlightenment-and-we-should-not-condemn-mothers-human-frailty

Just read this interesting take on motherhood. As someone with questionable mental health (?!), that has remained a daily battle despite having children, I actually found it very accurate in a number of ways. Thought it was a thoughtful read.

[Chunksmum]

Regarding comments above made by Jermey and Susyp, I agree you both do sound completely self righteous. Addiction is an illness not a choice.

Jeremy for saying she had no excuse for getting involved in hard drugs is a ridiculous ignorant comment! She was involved in drugs long before having children, was in and out of rehab and went through periods of trying other ways to be sober but addiction is a life long disease and changes the brain in fundamental ways, disturbing a person's normal hierarchy of needs and desires and substituting new priorities connected with procuring and using the drug. I feel sorry for her and her family equally, she would never have wanted to leave her family behind. I hope if any member of your family ever suffer from this awful form of mental illness you will have more sympathy and understanding. I really don't want to get into a debate/argument on this topic but couldn't skip past your comments and not saying how cold hearted I found them.

[Soulking]

If you really don't want to get into a debate then perhaps posting your opinion on a public forum is not such a great idea?

[Saffron]

I think you can feel sad about something without feeling sorry for the person, and that's not self-righteous.

I do feel sad because her death was a human tragedy. I don't feel sorry for her. And while her family will have all the financial and social support that comes with their status, millions of ordinary people will struggle with addiction/mental illness with little or no support at all. I feel truly deeply sorry about that.

I'll be curious to see if her family take any opportunity to use this tragedy to promote awareness about addiction and addiction support.

[Chunksmum]

I said that soulking mainly because I don't have the time to get into a debate about my comment on here. Fairly often on this forum threads erupts into a heated debate just because you have a difference of opinion from somebody else. Sometimes it's nice to just listen to others, give your comment and move on and not have every comment you make picked apart.

[LondonMix]

Really interesting article.

jennyh Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> http://www.newstatesman.com/glosswitch/2014/07/mot

> herhood-not-enlightenment-and-we-should-not-condem

> n-mothers-human-frailty

>

> Just read this interesting take on motherhood. As

> someone with questionable mental health (?!), that

> has remained a daily battle despite having

> children, I actually found it very accurate in a

> number of ways. Thought it was a thoughtful read.

[Otta]

Saffron Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I'll be curious to see if her family take any

> opportunity to use this tragedy to promote

> awareness about addiction and addiction support.

I'm not sure I'd want to really dwell on it if I was them. It's not like her dad hasn't done his bit for altruistic awareness / money raising.