I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the fears Dylan has overcome over the last few years. Bounce houses and spaghetti come to mind right away, but there have been many walls that have, thankfully, come down. Recently, he announced that he’s no longer afraid of (1) hand dryers in public bathrooms, (2) the monorail at the zoo, (3) the ocean, and (4) the dentist. I know the first three to be true (I was a witness to them all…the ocean frolicking happened just yesterday!), but I’m not sure I buy the dentist bit. He has a cleaning coming up, which will either affirm or refute his declaration. As the tortured Mama who accompanies him on these dental appointments, I sure hope he’s right.
Anyway, it got me thinking about my own fears – the rational and not so rational ones. I made a list (surprise!) of everything I’m afraid of, and the scary thing (pun intended) is that it didn’t take very long to reach #26 (gulp), and I’m pretty sure there’s more to add.
Things I’m Afraid Of (in no special order)
- Neti pots
- Deep ocean water
- Power outages
- Tasers
- Bees
- Snakes
- Spiders/spider webs
- General anesthesia
- Death
- Poltergeist (1982)
- Sleepovers (feared as a child and now as a Mama)
- Balconies on cruise ships (see #2 and #9 for context)
- Vomit
- Lice
- Public bathrooms in parks
- Being tickled
- extra large dragon flies (in my house)
- Banks, post offices, gas stations, and fast food establishments (places where I have irrationally concluded that random acts of violence are likely to occur)
- Throat cultures (I have a a serious gag reflex, see #13)
- Serial killers (I watch at least 30% of The Following, which is sooo good, with my eyes and ears covered)
- Vans (not minivans, but cargo vans, the kind people drive when they kidnap kids)
- Flying (on airplanes)
- Cancer
- Failure
- Periodontal disease
- Police officers on motorcycles pointing radar speed guns at cars in school zones (makes my heart race every time)
To my dearest Dylan,
The apple certainly doesn’t fall far from the tree, does it? I’m sorry.
Love,
Mommy
What are you afraid of?
The Runaway Mama by Jen Gregory 