I Drive Way Too Fast to Worry About Cholesterol" Steven Wright

Worrying is such a wasted behavior. So why is it that after all these years, it is still my favorite past time?


The Boy had yet another baseball tournament this past weekend. After missing a week of school recently due to the flu, he was still weak and tired. I was concerned that a weekend of activity might be too much, but I kept this to myself since he was really looking forward to it. As we left for the game early Saturday morning, it was cool, but comfortable. Unfortunately, as we reached the field an hour later, the temperature had begun to drop as it would continue to do all morning. The Husband was regretting his decision to wear shorts and a t-shirt. I'm always cold, so I had layered up pretty good, but I was still freezing. Little One had on her requisite "sophies" (gym shorts), but I had thrown in her school fleece jacket for her, so she was fine. The problem was The Boy. He had refused the "sleeve" that he would usually wear under his jersey when he pitches. He had not brought his jacket...therefore, I had to worry. I worried all through the first game, though he never even noticed. The temperature dropped so much before the second game that The Husband actually parked the car in a position so we could watch from inside. I quizzed The Husband on whether or not my yellow hoodie was "too girlie" for The Boy. He wrinkled his brow and stared at me. I guess so. Little One uncharacteristically offered up her green fleece...ok, not bad. I thought I had actually seen some boys wearing that color at school. So she ran over and gave it to The Boy. He promptly stuffed it in his bag and never wore it. When he got in the car after the game, I asked if he was cold. "Mom, I told you no. I'm fine." So much for all of the worry.



The next day, I wasn't able to attend the tournament due to some meetings. I asked The Husband to keep me posted. I worried that The Boy was tired...that he would be cold....that his arm would be sore after pitching...you name it, I worried about it. The Boy played his way through two games and they won, winning their way to the championship game that night. As the last game began, the Husband called. "There was a freak accident". My heart skipped a beat. "He was hitting really well in the batting cage (why the way he was hitting was pertinent information escapes me?) and he hit a ball so hard that it hit a pole and ricocheted back at him and hit him in the mouth." Oh my gosh, is he ok?. "Yeah, no blood." (If there is no blood, The Husband is good to go...) "But he has a fat lip". Well, that was it. Even though he was fine and not injured, my night was ruined. I pictured his huge lip. I imagined a tooth being lose. I pictured his orthodontic appliance being smashed. For the next two hours, I pictured every bad scenario possible. When The Boy finally called on his way home, I asked if he was ok. "Oh yeah!! In fact, I busted a homerun after that! " Well, terrific. I mean I was happy for him, but I needed to see the damage.
When they arrived an hour later (the lip was evidently not fat enough to prevent a fast food stop), he came running in. The lip was indeed fat, but his spirits were high. There was no permanent damage. I sat The Boy and The Husband down and demanded that they immediately purchase a batting helmet with a mouth guard. They looked back and forth at each other and then burst out laughing. You would have thought I'd suggested pink patent shoes. "Mom, no way. Those look dorky." I stared...maybe glared....at The Husband. "Come on hon, it was a freak accident...let's don't over-react".........Over-react??? My son gets busted in the mouth by a ricocheting ball and I'm over-reacting?? Someone explain to me what the impetus would be for getting a face-guard? Missing teeth? Broken jaw? .......Don't they understand that I'll never be able to relax at another game?
When I discussed this with The Husband later on, he said "If I solve one issue for you, you just move on to another". ....And I had to hush and agree, because if I had convinced him to buy the mouth guard, I would have just gone back to worrying about the jacket...

So that's it for today. Little One's softball game will be rained out tonight, so I get a break from worrying for today...but there's always that test tomorrow to stress over...

Until tomorrow...