8.23.2010

Worry with a Twist. Make that a double.


When I discovered I was going to be a parent I knew I was entering a whole new dimension of worry.  Worry about the safety of my kids.  Worry about their school performance.  Worry that they will like me.  Worry that I will let them down somehow.

What I hadn't anticipated was worrying about the wellbeing of my kids' friends.  Learning details of what their lives are like at home.  Hearing that a mother is emotionally badgering her daughter.  Seeing my daughter worry about her friend's safety as she gets into her car with her enraged parent. Knowing that my child's friend is caught in the middle of a nasty divorce.  Feeling uncertain how to proceed when the friend's parent consistently fails to reciprocate hospitality or car pool.  It's not the kids' fault his parents won't do the right thing.  Wanting to reach out and protect my son's friend but being unable to do so for fear of severing the relationship entirely.  Being unable to sleep because I'm worried how that child is sleeping tonight.  

When my husband and I decided to stop at four kids we had no way of knowing we would carry the emotional burden of parenting a half dozen more.