Subject: WORRY
A friend sent this to me and I thought ya’ll would enjoy it.
Is there a magic cutoff period when offspring become accountable for their
own actions? Is there a wonderful moment when parents can become detached
spectators in the lives of their children and shrug, "It’s their life," and
When I was in my twenties, I stood in a hospital corridor waiting for
doctors to put a few stitches in my son’s head. I asked, "When do you stop
The nurse said, "When they get out of the accident stage." My Mom/Dad just
smiled faintly and said nothing.
When I was in my thirties, I sat on a little chair in a classroom and heard
how one of my children talked incessantly, disrupted the class, and was
headed for a career making license plates. As if to read my mind, a teacher
said, "Don’t worry, they all go through this stage and then you can sit
back, relax and enjoy them." My Mom/Dad just smiled faintly and said
When I was in my forties, I spent a lifetime waiting for the phone to ring,
the cars to come home, the front door to open. A friend said, "They’re
trying to find themselves. Don’t worry, in a few years, you can stop
worrying. They’ll be adults." My Mom/Dad just smiled faintly and said
By the time I was 50, I was sick & tired of being vulnerable. I was still
worrying over my children, but there was a new wrinkle. There was nothing I
could do about it. My Mom/Dad just smiled faintly and said nothing. I
continued to anguish over their failures, be tormented by their frustrations
and absorbed in their disappointments.
My friends said that when my kids got married I could stop worrying and lead
my own life. I wanted to believe that, but I was haunted by my Mom/Dad’s
warm smile and their occasional, "You look pale. Are you all right? Call me
the minute you get home. Are you depressed about something?"
Can it be that parents are sentenced to a lifetime of worry? Is concern for
one another handed down like a torch to blaze the trail of human frailties
and the fears of the unknown? Is concern a curse or is it a virtue that
elevates us to the highest form of life?
One of my children became quite irritable recently, saying to me, "Where
were you? I’ve been calling for 3 days, and no one answered. I was
I smiled a warm smile. The torch has been passed.
PASS IT ON TO OTHER WONDERFUL PARENTS
(And also to your children. That’s the fun part)
