Fearless Freak Week

I read in a book this week that we as parents often pass our fears down to our children.  As I read, I thought,nah.  But then I paused to reflect...  

Last week my son refused to go barefoot in the backyard grass because he said there was hookworm danger.  

For the last year my daughter cannot brush against a tree or bush without thinking a tick just transferred itself onto her skin. I was also told that yesterday at recess she stood at the top of the playground equipment shouting for assistance because she "was going to die." 

These thoughts seem rational to me, but I'm beginning to recognize that while I may be preventing hookworm, ticks and head lice outbreaks, I may also be raising a couple of freaks (consequently lyme disease-free freaks). 

So what now?  It may be time to make some adjustments in my thinking. I will need to calm my irrational (and sometimes rational) fears so they are not further transferred to my little ones.  Just because the wind is blowing 40 mph does not automatically mean the roof is going to tear apart and lift off the top of our house. Just because I am watching TV at night with the shades open does not mean someone is standing on the other side of the window trying to figure out a good way to kill me. And just because my kid makes a little cough sound does not mean he or she is going to projectile vomit uncontrollably in public (but sometimes that's exactly what it means). 

In an effort to overcome some of these wayward thoughts, I'm going to spend a week doing things that are out of my comfort zone. I will push my limits, challenge myself to be a fearless person. I may return an item to the store or speak up when a server brings me the wrong meal. I may also climb a tree (but not the ash trees in my yard because I think they are dying and will have compromised limb strength).  I am a driven woman.  This will be the fearless freak week.  I've created a schedule below in case you want to follow along with me and conquer your fears as well. Once again, I find myself in self-help book land.

Day one:  Wipe (and I mean bathroom wipe) all day with my non-dominant hand (left). Goal: embrace dirty hands and build my ambidextrous skills.

Day two:  Make a vending machine purchase with a room full of people behind me. Goal: buy chips like no one is watching [and judging] (this should be in that Tim McGraw song about living like you are dying. I'm not much of a country music follower, I had to look up the spelling of his name, for a moment I thought it was Magraw - oops.)

Day three: Practice my shuttle run on the sidewalk in front of my house during the home-from-work hour. Goal: understand that there is no harm in a poor shuttle run time, or heaping on neighborhood shame.

Day four: Leave my house after 8:00 p.m.  Goal: remember this is not actually an obscene time of night, no matter how tempted I am to be offended when someone invites me to dinner at 8:30.

Day five: Eat a tomato grown in someone's backyard. Goal: discover that not every backyard food item has worms inside.

Day six: Use the bathroom in a non-family member's house.  Goal: recognize they don't feel embarrassed when I stand up in the middle of a conversation and walk to the bathroom (especially when I'm limping because my bladder is threatening to burst). 

Day seven: Engage in a public confrontation of some kind. Goal: overcome my terror of conflict.  People respect someone who can stand up for herself. (Example: Me: "I noticed you were staring at my sweater/sweatpants combination. Do you have a problem with my choices?" Them: "No.")

So there it is.  After fearless freak week, I am pretty sure I'll be ready to ski from the black diamond hill and gamble at the card tables instead of the nickel slots. 

Hookworm, eat your heart out (or more accurately, the foot followed by the small intestine)!