Worry

I think in the dictionary, next to Parent, it should say Worry. Don't you agree? I have lived a life of 'everything is going to be okay' until I had Tia. Then the worry started from the time I got pregnant. I was worried I had a little too much to drink before I knew I was pregnant and was praying that she wouldn't have any affects at birth or later. Then when she was born, it was the worry of sleeping through the night...holding the mirror up to her nose to make sure she was breathing. Then it was just trying to be a good mom to her. Then leaving her at daycare...will she be okay. And the list goes on and on. I have heard from parents that the worry never stops and as they grow into adulthood, the list just gets bigger on the worry because you aren't there to protect them like you did when they were little. But with the worry comes great satisfaction and joy in being a parent that makes it all worthwhile. The past couple weeks, my worry meter went up on a couple occasions. Once was when it snowed a few inches here and I had a big event at work that required me to get into the office one way or another. I got ready as usual, scooped up Tia, and we were on our way. My car (BMW X5) has the all wheel drive out right now, so when I hit icy patches, I become a very heavy roller-skate. Traffic was horrible and it was evident from the moment I left the house that my hour commute was going to be much longer. I wasn't even able to get up our subdivision hill. I was slipping and my AWD was grinding because it doesn't work. I had to turn around and go down the other way. Then all the roads leading to the HWY were treacherous. I even came a few feet away from an accident less than a mile from the house. An oncoming car was turning and the two cars in front of me where sliding out of the way. The car behind me was trying not to hit me and me, well, I was just trying to come to a complete stop which was not going very well. Luckily, everyone was okay. pfew. Then the highway proved to be a parking lot and pretty much the entire way was horrible. I got to Tia's daycare an hour and a half later, which usually takes about 30 minutes. She was getting stir crazy and her movie that was playing was not entertaining her for that long. She is just not used to it. It was the first time she cried out for 'School' in a good way. After dropping her off, it took me another hour to get to work. So in total, it was 2.5 hour drive. The entire way I was worried for my babies. Here I am 9 months pregnant and Tia in the backseat too. I just kept repeating 'Precious Cargo' 'Precious Cargo' and praying to the Lord to watch over us and all of the other people out that day. We made it and I didn't mind how long it took, just how safe was the important thing. Then two nights ago, I woke up to sleet hitting the window. It was a crazy thunderstorm and it wasn't consistent. The wind would howl, then there would be silence, then I'd hear the sleet again, and the rolling thunder. It was creepy. Then, the sirens started going off. I woke Chris up and said, 'honey, there are sirens' and right then we hear the siren say 'Take Shelter Now' and so we jumped up, put some clothes on, I went in and grabbed Tia, woke my mom up, and we all headed downstairs. I hated waking Tia up, but I was worried about her and Lexi. Before kids, I would have just stayed in bed. But after the sad Joplin tornadoes that took lives and me driving through a tornado not too long ago, I did not want to take any chances. I pray almost everyday that my girls live long, happy, and fruitful lives....that they have all the wonderful things I've been blessed with throughout my life, and more. I know all parents feel this way. I know Chris and I certainly do!