Me worried??...Naaaa

The word worry and mommy go hand in hand. From the day we become mothers, worry becomes an overwhelming, undesired feeling of everyday lives, from that day forward. From the newborn stage all the way up to...well..forever. Apparently we never stop worrying about our kids and that kind of sucks. When the heck am I ever going to lift my feet and not think about anyone but myself again...mmm let see...never!

I have many, many mommy friends. I keep in close contact with them through phone calls, emails and of course, facebook. I can almost guarantee that I will have a conversation with one of my close friends that will involve one of my kids or 1 of her kids. That is what we moms do, we talk and compare stories. We ask if we heard of a certain medication, and we ask if it’s normal to have mustard colour poo..lol. We describe vomit in full detail and we know the exact tone of pink in amoxicillin.

Worries range when you are a parent. They can be anything from a weird sounding cough, or a not so good test mark at school. We worry on their first day of kindergarten, we worry on their first trip to the dentist, and we worry when our kids put hockey equipment on for the first time. When we worry, we know we are doing it, we try our best to not, but it’s like fighting a lost battle, we lose every time.

I get tired of the constant nagging feeling of concern. The more we try not to think about something, the more we think about it. I just recently handed out birthday invitations for my daughter’s party. I am so worried that the little girls in her class are not going to come to the party..lol. I will hold my breath until all the calls come in that the girls will be coming. I am already anticipating the feeling of anguish if her friends don’t show up. This weekend Joseph’s hockey team is playing in the semi-finals and finals of their playoff hockey season; and again worry.

My mother tells me all the time, she still worries about us. It’s not even reassuring that we can relax when we get in our golden years. I don’t want to worry when I am old, it is bad enough we have to go through it now, why doesn’t it ever go away? Men don’t worry as much as us because they know we do enough of it for both of us.

Ironically enough, I am sitting here watching “Modern Family” and they are talking about the worries of a parent. It is not uncommon or unusual. It is part of the natural love of a child. It is the natural feeling of parenthood. We cannot sit here and begin to explain it. We cannot sit here and begin to write about it. We cannot sit here and forget about it. It is a part of who we are when we become parents. It is a part of the overwhelming emotions for our children. Worry is what we do and sometimes it is what we do best. It’s like when we tell our kids we don’t want them to go to the park alone, because they are not yet old enough. Our kids think we suck but we have our reasons why it is important to us. They will get it one day. They will understand what it feels like to love someone more than you love yourself. They will appreciate that we have done everything we ever did...for them.

Every morning when I wake up, I do my very best as a parent to think positive and stay on the worry free road. Usually by 9am that attitude changes slightly..lol. The worries kick in, the thoughts stream in my mind and the constant nagging concerns for my kids fill up my brain. My husband reminds me that it is all ok and to let life takes its course and to enjoy every minute of our children. He reminds me that worry is nothing but a waste of time. He tells me that he doesn't even think of the things that I worry about..lol. I try to take his advice, and I try to not think about the things that have not even happened yet..lol.

So this weekend when my son takes the ice on his finals of the playoffs, I will bring my smiles, my cheers, and maybe my rosary..lol..and when another mom asks me if I am a little worried about the game, I will be sure to answer...”Me worried???....Naaaa”..lol.
That’s my peace today!

My Nonna's Stracatella Soup
1 whole chicken leg (back attached)
2 peeled carrots
2 celery sticks
1 large potato
1 chopped escarole
1 white peeled onion
salt
1 egg beaten
2 tbsp grated parmesan

In a large pot, boil chicken. Once it comes to a boil, drain water and add fresh water. Add all the veggies (except the escarole), bring to a boil and salt the water. Boil for over an hour, add the escarole and boil for another 20 minutes. Remove all the veggies and chicken, place on a cutting board and chop until it is in tiny pieces (make sure there is no chicken bones). Add all back to broth and bring to another boil, add the beaten egg with cheese and continue to boil for another 5 minutes.