Why I Will Die An Early Death

I worry A LOT so I have been trying to ease up on the worrying.

Someone told me that "they" (whoever "they" are) were predicting 90,000 deaths from swine flu by Christmas this year. Did I freak out? Nope. Remember my swine flu freak out in April?

Obama was elected president and I heard all of the gloom and doom from people who know better than to tell me these things (Gary). I didn't even bother making plans to run away and find a safe place to live. I have heard that Texas can get out of being part of the United States if they need to. So my plan is to stay here and hope that if things get really bad Texas will decide to part ways with the USA. No freak outs, though, I just made a plan!

I have been letting Kinsey go to the bus stop even when there is no one to go with her. Yes, I have visions of kidnapping and other horrible things, but I try to let those things go and just think happy thoughts. Here's hoping that is the right thing to do.

I am about ready to let Chris drive a car. I say "NO!" to those thoughts of car crashes, drunk drivers, and his lack of a long attention span. I might even let him drive without one of us in the car with him (once he's legal). I have put my foot down about being the one to teach him, though. That will be up to Gary and the State of Texas. I know my limits!!!

I let Carson ride the school bus, even when Emily isn't on it. That is a hard one for me because he can't tell me if someone is mean to him. I am hoping I will have mother's intuition if something isn't right. I still let him ride though because he loves it and it gives him a little bit of independence.

I let Emily go play with friends in the neighborhood. I even told her it was okay to ride her bike around the neighborhood. That was before she decided to ride her bike to Sonic without asking for permission (which I would not have given her) and then stopping at the Jack-in the-Box drive-thru to ask for a cup of water. She was in lots of trouble and I did freak out a little then.

I started letting Jared ride his bike to school. It has been a very difficult thing to not worry about, because he very rarely comes straight home. He always has to stop on the way to hunt for rocks, sticks, pecans, and turtle shells. I have quit freaking out when he isn't home on time. I realize that he has this need to hunt for things that annoy his mom.

See how far I had come? Well, all of that improvement just disappeared today.

Today I got a phone call from my husband at around 12:30. It was very bad reception so all I got out of it was: Jared...everything okay.....hit by car........call schools.....need current phone numbers...bike messed up...will get it later! WHAT?!!!!! He was hit by a car? When? Where? I knew he was okay or I would have wanted to know that too! This accident happened around 8 am. I have been in car line before so I know that there are lots of teachers and parents around, yet no one took him to the office. The lady that hit him asked if he was okay and then left after getting Jared's home phone number so she could finish him off contact us later. She didn't bother to take him to the office to be checked out or even tell him to go to the office to get checked out, so he just went to class. She went home and tried to call the office, but they had their after hours recording on until after 10:30. The nurse called him in to get him checked out sometime after the principal heard from the lady. They did not get in touch with us until 12:30. Now I have to admit that I forgot to contact the school after we changed our home and cell phone numbers, but they had four numbers (three of them had changed). Instead of calling Gary's office they called our emergency contact and she told Gary (she works at the same office). Am I the only parent that has a thirteen year old that doesn't know what to do when something like this happens? Yeah, don't answer that. What happened to the village? Is it too much to ask for someone to step up and tell the boy to go to the office to tell them what happened or at least call his mom? Am I expecting too much?!! I have been nauseous since 12:30 and now my heart is racing and I have a headache. Back to square one. I think I need therapy or relaxation techniques or chocolate.

He came home with a smile on his face, excited to tell me all about his latest adventure and that his new bike was totaled (his words). I think that boy is going to kill me.

So, to all those kind people that have told me not to worry so much...

SEE...I TOLD YOU IT WOULD HAPPEN!!!

I am sooo grateful that he did not get hurt more. Just a few scrapes and bruises. I'm thankful for the prayer that Gary gave this morning asking that all of our children be kept safe. Now if my heart would just calm down.