Fear

Troy and I were talking the other day about someone who has a child in the military. I admitted to Troy that I had no idea how to teach my children to respect the people who serve our country, while also not wanting them to ever do so. I know this is a very hypocritical thing to say and also probably not very patriotic, but I would be terrified to have my children in the military. I have no idea how the parents of the men and women serving our country, especially those overseas, can handle it every day. This conversation led me to comment to him that having children really changes how you view fear. All the things that I was scared of before I had kids, are nothing now. What's scarey is something happening to one of my babies. I remember a quote I read one time about having children means forever walking around with your heart outside of you. I get that now. My small and my large fears seem to all center around my children. What if the other kids don't like them (how could they not - seriously?). What if they get hurt on the playground? What if they get sick? What if they get really sick? All of the fear can be overwhelming at times. But I also see that we make it through every day. So I remind myself to not let the fear take over and to just smile at the sweet, sleepy faces I see every night and be thankful for the day.