Our friend the ostrich

I may just change my favorite animal to the ostrich. I can totally identify with Mr. Ostrich. It is easy and safe to bury your head in the sand when confronted with danger. I know you can't keep your head in the sand all the time but when the danger gets too close or too overwhelming, pop your head in the sand for a bit.

What made me think about this today is a friend on Facebook posted a horrifying picture and story of animal cruelty. I am a huge softie, always have been and it's even worse now that I have Emma. I wish she could grow up in a world where people were always kind and loving and treated everyone fairly and never took advantage of creatures smaller and/or weaker than them. I really want that for her. But the real world tends to come barging in to the safe bubble we try to create for our children. Whether it is a horrifying Facebook post or a story you hear from a friend, the real world with all of its hurt and sadness makes its way in. Even before I got pregnant I would worry about things totally beyond my control but still I'm a worrier. The instant I got pregnant a whole host of new worries and fears popped up on my radar. My approach to conquering fear of the unknown is to educate myself. I read, and read and read some more. I got the daily baby tracker for my phone, I got the book, I checked websites. I could have written a dissertation on fetal growth and development. But the problem with babies is that, the more you learn about the more things you learn that can go wrong. For other new parents out there I sincerely apologize for this post because if your anything like me this will only serve to freak you out for a good solid week. So STOP READING until you are surrounded by your sweet cuddly baby and/or your significant other.


New parents- You'd better not be reading this by yourself. I mean it.

SIDS is probably the single most terrifying word you can say to a pregnant woman or to a new parent. Believe me, we know about SIDS. We have read everything ever published on SIDS. It scares the holy living crap out of us. Why? Because it is so random. There is no clear link to any one thing that can cause it, or better yet no clear thing that we can do to prevent it. So to the nice and I'm sure well meaning mom at daycare, I'm sincerely sorry that you have a friend that lost a child to SIDS that is truly terrible and heartbreaking, however I do not appreciate being reminded that it is still a threat. This is where I have to bury my head in the sand. Yes you should confront your fears, but when your fear is something like this, for the love of god bury your head in the sand for a minute to keep it from becoming a crippling fear. I intentionally bury my head in the sand on this issue and a few others because this isn't something I can fix or prevent or really do anything other than drive myself, Stuart and Emma absolutely crazy worrying about it. If I don't bury my head in the sand for a while, I will become overwhelmed and paralyzed with fear. I can't allow myself to dwell on it or I'll become a basket case.
So back to the protective bubble I try to maintain for me and my family. I don't want the bubble to isolate us from the real world just insulate a little to create a bit of a buffer. I have the burden of knowledge at this point, I don't want Emma to grow up thinking the world is all sunshine and cotton candy or else it will be a huge trauma when she first finds out the real world is a fairly harsh place. But I also want her to have some hope. I find myself in a very strange position these days where I am a hard core cynic regarding almost everything about the world but I am a hopeless optimist when I look at Emma's future.

The moral of the blog today is this: Everyday is a gift. Don't sweat the small stuff. Know when to stick your head in the sand for a bit. 

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