One Mother to Another

If you've read this blog for a while, you know that I have a fairly strong affinity for John and Elizabeth Edwards (you remember...the former VP candidate? Ha ha). I'm on their mailing list and yesterday I got an email from Elizabeth, which I thought was touching.

Here's an excerpt:

"Casey Sheehan was born May 29, 1979, the first born child of Cindy and Pat Sheehan. It was a long labor. Fifty-one days after Casey was born, our first child, Wade was born, also after a long labor. They started school the same year, played the same games, watched the same television shows, loved the same country. On April 4, 1996, three weeks after going to Washington as a winner in a national contest about what America meant to him, Wade died in an automobile accident. On April 4, 2004, eight years later to the day, Casey, who loved his country enough to wear its uniform, died in Iraq. Cindy and Pat's hearts broke, as had ours.
We teach our children right from wrong. We teach them compassion and honor. We teach them the dignity of each life. And then, sometimes, the lessons we taught are turned on their heads. Cindy Sheehan is asking a very simple thing of her government, and she and her family, and most particularly Casey, have paid a very dear price for the right to ask this.

Cindy wants Casey's death to have meant as much as his life - lived fully - might have meant. I know this, as does every mother who has ever stood where we stand. And the President says he knows enough, doesn't need to hear from Casey's mother, doesn't need to assure her that Casey's is not one small death in a long and seemingly never-ending drip of deaths, that there is a plan here that will bring our sons and daughters home. He doesn't need to hear from her, he says. He claims he understands how some people feel about the deaths in Iraq."

I can't imagine what it's like to lose a child. Although I continue to support Cindy Sheehan's vigil (in fact, I'm attending a local event tonight in support), you get kind of blase after seeing it on the news and on every progressive blog. But reading Elizabeth's words reminded me again of the genuine loss of Casey Sheehan and his breathren (and sister-en?) in Iraq. What a waste. No wonder people are pissed off.

I know I am.