While we still don't know who will end with custody of little Baby Boy Doe, the baby left on a street corner Tuesday evening, we do know that right now he's safe. And because of tight-lipped officials, his mom is safe, too.
Can you imagine the backlash she'd receive if her identity became public? This woman, who was frightened enough to hide her pregnancy from her family and deliver her baby alone, would become everyone's favorite verbal punching bag. She'd probably have to move if she wanted to have a completely anonymous, normal life again.
Please don't think I agree with her decisions. I don't. But as I said before, I feel for her on so many levels. I don't want this to ruin her life. As it is, if she or someone in her family ends up with custody, for the rest of her life she might be thinking of what could have happened if she had never come forward and said she was the mother. If she ends up putting the baby up for adoption, each Mother's Day and each July 18, she'll think of that little boy that she doesn't hold in her arms.
I'm sure there are people who think she lost her chance to be a parent to this baby the moment she put him on the corner. But maybe someday she'll be sitting with her son in her arms and be so grateful for the pregnancy she once hid and for the baby she once tried to give away. Then again, maybe someone else will sit out there and rock this little boy, grateful for the mom who gave him up so someone else could love him, too. Either way, this ending is much better than the could-have-been scenarios we all thought of earlier this week.
And doesn't it really make you want to go give your children a hug?