I Worry About My Childre

What mother doesn't, right?

Here's an example from the other day:

Becky was due to be picked up any second by her friend to go to cheerleading practice. She was in a rush to get her things together and I was rushing her along. I hate to keep people waiting, and I hate even more to have people come into my house to wait because it always looks as if a tornado has torn through. For the life of me, I cannot understand why it's so difficult to keep this place up.

Anyway, her ride shows up, and I yell up the stairs, "Becky! Your ride is here!"

She flies down the stairs, cheer bag slug over her shoulder, flying behind her. She grabs a bottle of water from the fridge while attempting to put her hair up in a ponytail. Her arms are loaded with iPods, shoes, clothes, and God only knows what else. What was in her bag, I have no idea. It only makes sense to me that all of these things should have been in her bag.

I follow her out to the garage to say goodbye and wave to the nice parent sitting in the driveway who has come to pick her up. She opens the door and THUD! Literally. It sounded just like that. THUD!


She had opened the door right into her forehead!

In her haste to get out the door, she had forgotten to step aside to allow room for it to open. She attempted to go out the door in the same instant she had attempted to open it.

She nearly knocked herself out! She stumbled backward a little bit with a dazed look on her face. And me, being the good mother that I am, just stood there, mouth agape. My first instinct was to laugh out loud, but again, being the good mother that I am, I ran over to her and steadied her. When I determined that she was OK, only then did I laugh.

Hey, she began laughing first, holding her forehead where a large, red welt was beginning to rise.

Of course, her friends in the car saw it happen as well. I could see them laughing, too. So, it wasn't only me. It was rather comical. Just like something you'd see on a cartoon, where afterward a huge knot rises high above the head.

So you see, I have cause to worry. This isn't the first time she's done something like this. This is the only girl I know that can walk through a room and trip over absolutely nothing and end up on the floor. We used to think there was something wrong with her when she was small, but the doctors assure us that she's fine, just clumsy.

It's a wonder she survives day to day sometimes.

So, I worry.