My Worst Fear (or Fears)

There was a tragic story on the news last night about a local man who forgot about his little boy in his car seat when he went into work. The little boy died and the father now faces ten years in prison. Evan suffocating in the car is one of my worst fears--the day I freaked out in the Safeway parking lot is proof. I can't imagine how awful the dad must feel. An article in the Washington Post said that since 1998, more than 376 children across the country have died after being left in hot vehicles. I've heard that this has increased with rear-facing child safety seats, since parents can't see the child. I made it a point to always check the car seat, even when I knew Evan wasn't with me just to get in the habit. Before Evan went to daycare, I was leaving him home, so it wasn't as big of a worry. But now that I'm dropping him off in the mornings, I'm going to be even a little more paranoid than usual.

I have tons of fears that revolve around Evan. So many that I'm surprised I can even get out of bed in the morning (then again, I did read that article about the toxic chemicals in mattresses, so I should, in fact, leap out of bed). I worry that Evan will drown, choke on a grape, touch a hot pan, fall down the stairs, poke out his eye, need stitches, get a sunburn, get a rug burn, get pushed on the playground, swallow bleach, get into medicines, inhale dry cleaning chemicals that linger on clothes, develop autism from watching t.v., chip a tooth, chip a nail, stub a toe, smash a finger...the list goes on and on. I think my hair gets more and more grey every day. I hope all moms are this paranoid. Not that is good for us all to be neurotic, but at least it means we're all in the same boat.