Separation Anxiety

Today I suffered from a mild case of separation anxiety. Okay, maybe it was more than a just little mild. My son, still 7 years old, attended a birthday party with one of his friends at Playland in Vancouver. JM, the birthday boy, was turning 9! He is a sweet boy from another school whom J has known for 6 years. So, while J was very excited about the party, he also expressed some concern himself about going when he learned that I wasn't going with them. Although J knows JM pretty well, he was worried about the fact that he didn't know the other kids - and that they would all be older than him. Because I know the parents well, I assured J that he would be just fine, and if he wanted, he could always hang out with J's sister, who is 6.

Having said that, I was still a little anxious about him while he was gone. Paranoid mother, I guess. I kept thinking about the old, decrepid wooden roller coaster which was built in 1958. That thing always seemed like it was ready to fall apart when I was out seeking thrills on it myself as a teen! Today, it's almost 50 years old and I know it still reaches speeds of over 45 MPH! No, I could not stop thinking about all the train derailments I've heard about on the news over the years - most recently the one near Lytton. And these were trains chugging along on level terrain! With real engineers! Who maintains these rides? City staff? I know all about government cut-backs! I was also afraid that J would be pressured (or feel pressure) to go on rides he wasn't really comfortable with - because he would want to be a big kid too. Or, what if he got separated from the group???? Every possible scenario was entering my paranoid mind. Finally I broke down and called JM's mother on her cell phone. Once she assured me that my son was having a great time and was getting along fine with the other boys, I relaxed. He came back in one piece! He'd had a fantastic time! He was well-mannered and well-behaved! He didn't go on any rides (ie: the Zipper) that he didn't want to go on! But, he did choose to ride the famous rickety old wooden roller coaster after all - in the very back car!!!!!!!!!!!