Fear and Love

My husband and I started watching Heroes this weekend. I must admit I'm enjoying it, although last night it brought out a strong reaction in me. It got me to thinking about how much I love my daughter and how I want to protect her from this crazy world. There are so many bad people and bad things that can enter your life when you least expect it. I went to bed with a million scary thoughts swirling in my head. Irrational? Yes, I must admit I was being a bit dramatic. But honestly, what can we do as parents to protect our little ones?

I am so consumed with my love for the babe and, like most parents, want to do everything possible to ensure her life is filled with true happiness. I know she will have to face her challenges and go through tough times, but how can I reduce the amount of distress that she will no doubt encounter in her life?

Last night I started to worry about everything from strangers to terrorist attacks. After going over crime reports in our area on the Washington Post's web site yesterday, I realized that we're not as safe in our groovy little neighborhood as I thought. Thinking more about it, I suppose we live in a city that has already been hit by terrorists once. Does that mean we're putting the babe at risk by living in Washington, DC? Should we move to a safer and smaller city? I was living in NYC in September 2001, and I really don't want to be any place where that kind of attack could happen again.

How much of this fear is rational and how much is me just being ridiculous? I mentioned my concerns to my husband last night as I crawled into bed. He said that we can't live in fear. I agree. I have honestly tried to live my life that way (especially since 9/11). But what practical things can I do to keep my precious little family safe? How can I minimize the chance of ugliness entering our lives? As a new mother, I'm quickly realizing that these many worries are part of the job and that I am going to have to learn to live with for the rest of my life.