My serenade to Blago

No jogging in too-tight spandex. No front porch press conferences. No poetry recitations. No breaking into Spanish. It was fun while it lasted, but now it's over. I miss you, Buddy. Even more, I miss the $400 I donated to your first gubernatorial campaign.*

If Dusty Springfield were here, she'd sing:

I just don't know what to do with myself
Don't know just what to do with myself
I'm so used to doing everything with you
Planning everything for two
And now that were through

I just don't know what to do with my time
Im so lonesome for you it's a crime
Going to the movie only makes me sad
Parties make me feel as bad
When I'm not with you
I just don't know what to do …

*Oh, yes I did! I'm not proud of it, but confession is good for the soul.

Suddenly it doesn't seem like such a happy miracle

The California woman who gave birth to eight babies this week -- while "only" expecting seven -- already had six kids. She has no husband, and the kids have no father -- neither legally nor biologically. All 14 of these children resulted from in-vitro. I'll leave it to others to oooh and aah over this medical miracle. Her situation confuses, appalls and depresses me.

It took a team of 46 to deliver the octuplets. Who paid for it? This woman and her family have had their share of financial problems, having abandoned a home and filed for bankruptcy recently.

What clinic would implant embryos inside a woman who already has 6 kids, all under the age of 8? Wasn't her doctor concerned about whether the woman can provide care for all these children? With so many babies -- all of whom had low birth weights, which places them at risk for serious problems ranging from lung disease to stroke to cerebral palsy -- can she see that they all get proper medical attention over the long haul?

It's easy to say that she never should have had these kids. But she did. Whose responsibility is it to see that they have a healthy, safe future? Of course it is primarily it's up to her, but I cannot possibly be the only one who questions her judgment. These helpless babies didn't ask to be born, and now that they're here, can we as a society turn our backs on them?

My biggest question -- why didn't she just adopt? If she had a burning desire to be a mother, if she has the love to give, why not lavish it on a child who is already here and in the foster care system? I live next door to a children's home and right now can see two kids, both of whom I'll wager are under 10, giving one another rides through the snow in a neon green saucer. These two are already here, I can see their breath as they play and laugh. Why not give ONE of these youngsters a forever home, instead of bringing FOURTEEN more into the world?

WHAT WAS SHE THINKING?