Everything is scary

I used to be fearless. Well, okay I guess not really fearless, but I guess a lot less fearful. I wasn't worried about, well a lot of things .....

After having children, everything is scary.

A few examples of things that never used to scare me are....... public bathrooms, roller blades, shopping carts, and grapes.

Grapes? you might ask, shopping carts?

And I answer , yes......... most especially grapes and shopping carts.

Grapes are one of the top choking hazards. I still cut Libby's if no one is looking, (you see I take a lot of heat for my fear of grapes). What does is hurt to just cut them in half? When my girls were toddlers, I cut each grape into sixes. With pride. Did I (alright...... do I ...) think that every grape that they pop into their mouth will lodge in their throats and cut off oxygen? No. But if I can minimize the risk, WHY NOT.

Shopping carts......... ewwww ewwwwww........ there was a study done & they tested a sample of shopping carts from many many different super markets around the country. I wish I remember who did it, I learned this at a daycare in service....... anyway what was found was......

please do not read further if you plan on going to the supermarket without germX ever again....

Every body fluid possible. Now I could list what was found, but just think beyond saliva, boogers, and blood....... EEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW......

Wegmans, bless their hearts, has a wipes dispenser near the carts, that I faithfully use each time. I have never ever seen anyone else use these while I am there.

And you wonder why you should wash your produce.....

I really didn't ever worry about things like this before kids.

When I got pregnant for Samantha I relied on my doctor & the media to let me know what to fear...... caffeine, second hand smoke, tuna fish...................

all right, you got me, I've always been afraid of tuna fish ............

But all of a sudden one day you bring this precious perfect baby into a severely imperfect world. And it changes.

Then there are the big scaries..... like child molesters, and kidnappers, and severe injuries, and illnesses, terrorists, and republicans........................ (just kidding on that last one, just checking to see if my husband reads these or not because he will comment).

After 9/11, I put together a "safe kit". There was water, and baked beans, peanut butter, duct tape, and garbage bags, toilet paper, a land line phone, aeriel antennae for the TV, & when Libby came along diapers, & baby formula, to mention a few items. I kept it for about 3 years. One time I even used it, when we had an ice storm & cable went out..... I used the aeriel antennae for about 6 minutes before we lost all power, but then I used the land line telephone while the power stayed out for a couple days.

But time went on, and I couldn't justify my obsession, my worry, when my youngest was three, and somewhere in that plastic bin were still size 2 diapers . So I disassembled it. And without it to focus on, it's a bit easier.

Now there are just public bathrooms, roller blades, and one day GULP drivers licenses.

But i will get through it. I can't allow my children to be afraid of the world. So I put on their helmets, and elbow pads & knee pads. And I carry the toilet seat liners in my purse. And as far as my girls know, I have no fear of toilet seats, shopping carts, and roller blades.

They are well aware of the grapes.