not without anna

I appreciated how the adults involved in the story took a bad situation and created good.

I often hear about parents whose children are killed by drunk drivers and then become involved with spaeking to huge teen assemblies, or they become involved with legislation to have laws changed, etc.

Vicki, what prompted you to work your story line that way? I loved the idea of working iwth the teens. What teens need is adults who show interest in them.

What prompted me? I felt a desire to show that even those these adults lose their children they still love children and want to help anyone they can. They didn't want more children to follow in the footsteps of their own. They hoped that they could lead by example.

More than anything, Charles and Katherine wanted to give something to the community that wasn't there for their teenagers. They wanted to avoid more situations similar to the ones that surrounded their children's deaths.

Their motivation was that if they could save just one life, all their hard work and dedication to their cause would have been worth it.

Peace!

[ June 05, 2004, 02:21 PM: Message edited by: Vicki M. Taylor ]

What a wonderful way to turn a terrible thing serendipitous. Great work vicki.
smile

thanks, Smile. I appreciate the kind words.

Something else I have to mention is the fact that even though the parents thought they were involved enough in their kids lives, they weren't.

There is such a fine balance with teenagers because we want so badly to give them the independence they need for future years, but it can't come too soon. What a balancing act! I'm living that act 3 times over!

Good point, Dotsie . . . we do try to help our teenagers find their independence, but at what cost? If we give in to their begging for more independence, then we lose our fragile hold on their actions. If we hold too tight, then we can inadvertently encourage them to act out more to protest their independence.

Could Katherine or Charles have raised their children any differently? Would it have made a difference in the outcome?