The Kid or The Carpet?

Earlier this week, a coworker of mine fresh from maternity leave experienced one of her first panic attacks as a new mother. She was carrying her infant son down the stairs and somehow tripped and fell down the last few steps. In an instant, she managed to lift him above her head to keep him steady and safe. He whimpered for a second, but was fine. Telling the story a few hours later, it was clear she was still a bit shaken. While telling her that I was sure he was fine, I couldn't help but think of a similar experience I had with my own mother when I was younger. However, my story ended a bit differently.

I was in high school and walking down the stairs by myself. My mother was in the bathroom at the top of the stairs getting ready for work. Halfway down I slipped and tumbled all the way to the foyer, landing on my butt with my legs flipped up in the air back toward the stairs. I happened to be carrying a glass of orange juice. Because I screamed a little and made quite a bit of noise, I knew my mom would appear, worried about what happened. Sure enough, I looked up and there she stood, curling iron in one hand and a mug of coffee in the other (if she had another hand, it would have been on her hip).

"Did you get any juice on the carpet?" she asked.

Now don't get the wrong idea. My mom is the sweetest lady and spent most of my childhood worried about my safety--it was prompted by things like sporting events, field trips, sleeping in my bed at night. But eventually, I suspect that my mom, like most parents, got to the point were she just couldn't sweat the small stuff anymore. During this stair surfing incident, I was a teenager, not a baby or toddler, and perfectly capable of letting her know if I was truly hurt. She obviously knew I was okay or else she would have been down those stairs in a flash. But she wasn't overly concerned about clucking over me either.

Still, it strikes me as funny. When and why do parents get to that point? Is it the age of the child? Exhaustion from years of worrying? Brand new, really expensive carpet?

Someday my coworker will probably watch her son take a bad spill and tell him to rub some grass on it or walk it off. But right now, she's definitely taking the kid over the carpet. Where are you? Vote in my poll to the right and be honest. Somewhere, some way, your mother is watching you...

P.S. Mom, if you're reading this, I'd like to remind you that I didn't get any juice on the carpet that day. So maybe consider cutting me some slack on this post!