Oh, Irony

On the day when I post about worrying about Claire because they're on lockdown at the school she's visiting, I'm featured on Free Range Kids writing about the emergency notes that parents are being asked to write for their kids.

Oh, the delicious irony!

The thing is that because I am a free-range parent, I didn't go rushing to the school to pick her up.  I trusted the teachers and the administrators to keep her (and the other kids, many of whom are precious to me, all of whom are precious to someone) safe.  I faced my fear, mostly by writing about it here and getting it out of my system, and I was able to finish my work.

The teachers didn't tell the kids what was going on.  Claire is completely clueless that anything abnormal happened near that high school today.  This is the way it should be.  I asked her how the Fire Safety Show was, she said it was fun and told me about "stop, drop, and roll," and then we went to Daisy Scouts.  Just another Thursday.  Nothing to see here, please move along.

But what message would I have been sending if I had rushed to the school in a panic?  I mean, that was my instinct, but part of being a human and an adult is rising above our instincts, right?  If I had come rushing to her rescue, I would have been teaching her that the teachers can't keep her safe - that she needs Mommy all the time.  I don't want to send her that message.  I want her to trust the other adults in her life, especially her teachers.

I rose above my instincts today, and I allowed my daughter to continue to trust her teachers.  Maybe my Free Range link isn't so ironic, after all.

Thanks, Lenore, for keeping me sane in a crazy world, and for teaching me to be a better mom than I ever could have been without you.

With love,
Amy