Worrying About Your Children

I remember being asked, “When do you stop worrying about your children?” My answer was, “Never. You start worrying about them from the time you know you are going to have a baby and the worry never stops.”

I know of a seven-year-old boy who was diagnosed with cancer at the age of two. He has had multiple surgeries, chemotherapy in the form of pills and infusion, and radiation. Last week he told his mother, “Mom, the cancer is back. You better take me to the doctor.”

She did. The diagnosis? The cancer has spread to his chest wall and heart. And because of the amount of radiation he has received over the past five years, he cannot have any more. So he’s once again having chemotherapy. However, the prognosis is not good.

This little guy has never known anything else except cancer. His parents know how their worry about him will end, but not when.

Perhaps the time of greatest worry parents have about their children is when they become old enough to take driver’s education. Once the youngsters qualify for their license, their parents will often be heard commenting they think they get new gray hairs every time their child takes off in the car.

As much as parents worry about their children, the time comes when children worry about their parents.

When the health of their parents start to fail, the children begin to worry about adequate care for their parents. About proper nutrition, getting to appointments with their doctors, getting to appointments for tests. Then there’s the worry over the parents’ hygiene. Worry also about how mobile their parents can be. And also about their parents’ capability to drive.

It’s especially worrisome for some of the children if they live quite a ways from their parents. The ones who do live some distance away find themselves struggling with the duties and obligations of their own lives balanced with those toward their parents.

There are many things in life we find ourseles worrying about: our children, having enough money to pay bills, our own health, our grandchildren, repairs to our house and vehicle, even our friends. Farmers and ranchers worry the lack of or too much moisture as well as commodity prices.

But constant worry doesn’t necessarily solve the things we worry about. What does solve problems is working on them to find a solution. Letting worry take over our lives never brings us peace or answers.