Stick a fork in him...

This past week I had the "opportunity" of having jury duty. I have to admit that when I got the letter about 3 weeks ago that I was to report last Monday morning, I immediately thought of a way that I could get out of it. At the bottom of the paper that told me when and where to report, there was a section about how if you thought you had a legitimate reason to be excused from jury duty, you could come talk to a judge on the Friday before. So what do I do? I completely forget about it until about an hour after the time I was supposed to be there. Now I'm stuck. I can't just not show up. I still wasn't that worried cuz everyone I talked to said that they've never actually had to go in more than a day for one reason or another. Plus, being that I'm "great with child", I figured they'd have sympathy for me/no use for me and release me back to my little world of Sesame Street, laundry, and Mac n Cheese. Nope.
After being selected to sit on a jury, I learned that I was now going to spend the next few days listening to a trial about a man accused of sexually abusing his daughter. I know, SICKENING! I'll spare you all the details (and let me just say, it was VERY detailed!) and just cut to the chase...I (along with 11 other people) found him as guilty as the day is long and was able to send him to prison for the the rest of his life. Well, technically he'll be able for parole when he's 85 but I'm guessing even if he gets out then, he'll do something to get himself right back in prison. See, this was his second rape conviction and his third felony charge. Oklahoma doesn't technically have the "three strikes and you're out" law but we all figured this guy had been given plenty of chances to live amongst society and we'd all be better off with him behind bars.
Anyway, I write about this whole experience because it was one of the most eye-opening, interesting, and humbling weeks of my life. I learned to be grateful for things I rarely ever thought of before...
*MY CHILDHOOD. This girl that was the victim in the case was 12 years old when she reported what was going on in her home. 12! You know what I was doing when I was twelve? Probably the worst part about this situation was that the girl's mother either refused to believe her or was too scared of her husband to let herself believe her daughter. Either way, this little 12 year old had the support of no one! At least, neither one of her parents (and most of her extended family.) I think about the home that I grew up in and even though I joke about my crazy family, I always knew that I was loved and protected in my home. This seemed like such a basic thing in my life but now that I have seen that not everyone is given that blessing, I'm extremely grateful to my parents for the environmet they created for me to be raised in.
*OUR JUSTICE SYSTEM. I know it's not perfect. I know there are bad people that get away with things and that there are also good people that have to pay for crimes they did not commit but I do believe that it's the closest thing to perfect that's out there. It was so interesting to watch first hand how things work. It also made me grateful for the people who choose this profession and that it's not me cuz I really don't think I could do it.
*MY BORING EVERYDAY LIFE. You know how they say "You don't know what you have until you don't have it anymore?" So true! It seems like just as I'm thinking about how "not exciting" my life as a mom to a 2 year old is, I get a little taste of life as a working mom. Once again, I am so grateful for the fact that I GET to be home with my little Ella everyday. I missed her so much last week! On top of that, I was exhausted in the evenings and had no desire to cook or clean the house or do any laundry. I don't know how some women can work full time and take care of their home at the same time. I have a new found respect for those who have to.
*MY FRIENDS. This is one thing that I was already aware of but has been especially meaningful to me this past week. I had some amazing friends in Omaha and to be honest, when we learned that we were moving to Oklahoma, I had doubts that I would be able to make friends like those I had in Omaha. I'm so happy to say that I was so wrong! I am so blessed to be surrounded by some great friends here in OKC. I had to ask four different girls to watch Ella for a WHOLE day. Each friend was so generous and so kind and never made me feel bad for the huge favor I was asking of them. A couple of them even prepared a dinner for me to take home when I came to pick Ella up in the evening! It was so nice to know that I didn't have to worry about her for one second while I was away all day and that she was being loved and cared for. I feel so indebted to these friends and can't thank them enough for the comfort they gave me each day.

All in all, even though it was an extremely difficult week that I tried to avoid, I am glad that I was able to take part in it and even more happy that it's over. Like I said, it brought things to my attention that I know I needed to be aware of to make me appreciate the abundance of blessings in my life. I know I'll think twice next time I complain about...well anything.