As a parent, I have a lot of fears. Those who know me would categorize it as textbook paranoia. Some of those fears literally take my breath away. So we do everything we can to protect our sweet children: seatbelts, bike helmets, knee pads, and so much more. It's not enough.
Yesterday Maddie was 20 minutes late getting home from school. Come to find out, she was helping some woman in a car with a lost dog. Could that be any closer to the stereotypical kidnapping that we've all been coached on throughout our lives?
For those of you who haven't yet become a parent, I have news for you: it takes less than a second for every horrifying scenario with a tragic ending to play out in your brain.
Thankfully, she's home safe.
We have had countless conversations, even Family Home Evenings on this exact subject. We have talked and talked, but it obviously wasn't enough.
You can imagine how the rest of our evening played out: tears, hugs, more thoughts of what could have been. Re-hashing with the "bad guys could have nice cars" or "pretty women could be bad guys", reminding her and Isaac what to do if someone grabs them, offers them candy, or tries to convince them that their parents don't love them anymore.
It feels like I've failed my kids, like we didn't do enough. Thank goodness we have the opportunity to do more, teach more, love more, learn more, protect more.
2 comments:
Holy shit!
Sorry...that slipped out. This parenting stuff....I tell ya...
I can’t even imagine… one time I thought I lost my cat. I was hysterical, honestly hysterical. I imagined that she was out on the streets alone and some homeless man was considering eating her for dinner. I was crying my eyes out when I discovered she had some how managed to climb to the top of my closet and sleep in my sweaters. Now if I can’t handle a cat missing for a few minutes I can’t even imagine the type of parent I would be to an actual human being.
Sorry you went through that Jess…
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