A Mother's Worry

My mom's words ring in my ear - "A mother NEVER stops worrying about her children." At 29, I now know this is the truth. I'm a mom myself, a grown woman, yet any "after dark" run to Target or the grocery store is met with absolute panic from my mother. "What if someone grabs you? There are sick people in this world, Kady." Sadly, she's right.

I was absolutely sick when I read about the young boy in Brooklyn, NY. If you haven't heard about it, you can find the story on any news website. But fair warning, it will make you doubt that there are any good people left in the world. And then, I read about a 3 month old in Bloomington who is at Riley's because his father was "frustrated" with him and dropped him into a bouncy chair. His own father.

As a parent, I am responsible for the well-being of my children. It was kind of an unspoken promise I made when I decided to become a parent. Aside from accidents, that are beyond my control - I worry every single day about the world my children will grow up in.

Last night I had a bad dream. There wasn't a villain in the dream, but it was so bad that I wasn't able to go back to sleep.

{DREAM}
We were packing up our things in a nice, multi-story hotel. Our room door was open, as we were bringing bags out into the hallway. And then I realized that Jack was running toward the open elevator at the end of the hallway. He ran into it and the doors closed JUST before I could get there. 


When I awoke from this dream I replayed it over and over in my head. What would I do? Could I put my faith in people and trust that someone (like myself, like all of you) would do the right thing and help my child? I want to believe that I could.

I know I can't keep Jack little forever. Eventually he won't fit in the front of the grocery cart or use the women's restroom with me... Eventually he'll be the one making after-dark trips to Target or the grocery store. And, while I won't be able to stop him, I'll still be the mother waiting at home for the phone call letting me know he's alright.