Be Careful!

I love this picture of Cameron! To me, his face is just beaming with pride and independence being on those roller blades. I love how the roller blades practically come up to the knees, the knee pads go up to the thigh and not very much leg is open for sidewalk burns. However, the skewed helmet is another story.

Yesterday I signed Cameron up for driver's ed. He will be 15 in February, which means he'll be getting his permit, if all goes well. I'm scared to death. I wish there were magic helmets and knee pads I could strap on his body for the rest of his life.

I know when my older son, Alex, took driver's ed it all seemed so surreal then. But, that was my first. It's supposed to be a shock that this has all come around too soon. By the time you get around to the second kid, you would think that you'd be more comfortable with the natural progression of growing up. But I'm not! You spend their whole lives telling your kids to "grow up!" And then when they do, you're dumbfounded.

But, no matter how old you get, or how old your kids get, you never stop worrying about them and for them. To this day, my mom worries when I have to drive in the dark. I'm 47 years old for goodness sakes! She always say "be careful." To which I reply, "no mom, I'm going to drive with reckless abandon." Duh---of course I'm going to be careful, right? However, it never ceases to amaze me that if it's such common knowledge to "be careful" then why am I always saying it to my kids? Chalk it up to "Parenting 101." It's the first phrase you learn when you have kids.

From year one, you can't wait until they learn how to walk and then once they do we say "be careful, or you'll fall." Then, we're so excited when they become a little more independent and they are feeding themselves but we can't help but say "be careful you don't choke on those 38 pieces of hotdog you just jammed into your mouth." Or, what about "be careful you don't hit someone with that"..."be careful with that Spiderman mask on because it's covering up your eyeballs and you'll be tripping all over the place." Be careful, be careful, be careful!!!! Even the police sargeant from Hill Stree Blues said it everyday "let's be careful out there."

After a lifetime of telling them to "be careful" it becomes an addiction, a way of life, an illness. Call it whatever you want, but it just comes out of your mouth. They could say "mom, I'm going to bed now" and you could find yourself saying "be careful you don't suffocate while you're laying on your stomach!" I feel as if I don't say "be careful" and cause them to stop and think about what they are doing, I've been neglectful in my duties as a parent. I suppose that's why my mom still says it. It becomes a habit. The one time you don't say "be careful" something could go wrong and then you'd have to use that other life long phrase "what did I tell you?".