  ICK!  That is how I'm feeling!  ICK!  We just received a notice about a neighborhood meeting.  It turns out that a level 3 sex offender is moving in just 2 blocks away.  His victims have been 15 year old girls.  Amanda is the right age.  I've been reasurring Court's mom that just because he's likely to reoffend,  doesn't mean he's going to,  and doesn't change the fact that the girls have been walking past other sex offenders who weren't convicted so we don't know who they are.
 That this notification is an opportunity on many levels:  to remind the girls that there are bad people in the real world,  not just on television,  to point out that the rule that they come straight home after their bus drops them off isn't because we don't trust them,  but because we need to know that they are ok,  to teach them to defend themselves if they find themselves in a situation,  to reassure them that if they can't get out of the situation that we'll be there for them and know it's not their fault.
 Needless to say,  I'm not going anywhere tonight,  just for my own peice of mind,  I need to stay in the comfort of my home with the doors locked.  I feel helpless and I don't like that one little bit.  I'll attend the meeting and that will help.  being around other parents who will likely feel the same way.
