Fearing the Worst
The fear is real. It's raw. Parenting is becoming scarier and more challenging by the day. I have to think twice, or more, about going out. I have to reconsider attendance at public school, going to church, visiting a museum, shopping at stores. How do I protect my kids from all the terror in this world? I'm sure it's a question parents have asked since the beginning of time, but this generation seems different. Something has changed. I'm suspicious of the man at the end of the grocery store aisle on his cell phone. Is he a kidnapper scheming to swipe my child when I let my guard down? Do I say hello to the fellow walking at the park? How close do I let people get to my children before I begin to worry? What about the teenager walking to school who always has his head down? Who do I trust outside my circle of friends? One wrong move and it will be my own fault for being naive. I don't feel safe, but I can't let on that I am afraid. I've become almost parano...