Four-year old fears

In case you have ever wondered what a four-year old fears, I will give you a snap shot. Sharks in the toilet. Getting locked in a hot car. Getting married and having kids and having to move out of mom and dad's home. Someone behind the shower curtain when you are sitting on the toilet. Lest you think that this is stranger phobia, I'll explain, when I asked Ceece for clarification she said that she is worried that the person behind the curtain can smell it when things get stinky and it is a little embarrassing for her. In dreams the fears get a little bigger. Last night Ceece came into my room and said she had a bad dream that she was at an amusement park and there was a statue of T-Rex there. Next to it was a red button that said "Don't touch". Claire said she pushed the button and T-Rex came alive and started eating people. Now that is scary.

So what do mom's of a four-year old fear? The end of naps. Painful insults from other children. Growing up too fast. Getting lost or worse snatched. I faced this fear on Friday while we were at Seaworld. We were with a large group of cousins and aunts and uncles so the kids kind of walked en masse everywhere. At one point we left the indoor aquarium and walked to the tide pool. I thought for sure that Ceece was with the kid group that went to the tide pool, but when I got there she was no where to be seen. I internally panicked, left Kens with the group and ran back to the aquarium. The aquarium wasn't well lit and I couldn't see much when I got inside. I ran frantically to the tanks we had just visited and then across the dark room I saw a sole spotlight on the floor, much like one you would see on a stage, illuminating my Claire who was performing some grand pirouettes and then some pretty impressive leaps. I watched her for a few seconds, saved the mental image, ran to her, picked her up and gave her a big hug.

I didn't even bother to tell her she was lost or how worried I was because in a second I realized that sometimes fears are just that, fears. We get worried about a lot of things that are POSSIBLE, but not many that are probable. Watching Claire twirl I realized that most the time things do go right, accidents don't happen, we're healthy and surrounded by people we love and life turns out pretty good.

***Right after I posted this, Dave read it and said, "Tara, don't jinx us."***