I can’t take full credit for this, although I did edit it. H/T Gerinomo
WORRY
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 feel nothing?
When I was in my twenties, I stood in a hospital
Corridor waiting for doctors to put a few
Stitches in my daughter’s head.? I asked, “When do
You stop worrying?”? The nurse said,
“When they get out of the accident stage.”? My
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 dad just smiled
Faintly and said nothing.
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 dad just smiled faintly
And said nothing.
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
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 dad’s warm smile and his
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
worried.”
I smiled a warm smile.?
The torch has been passed.