Worrying is Eternal

by Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger

13 Mar 2011 12:58 AM

Thank you to everyone who sent prayers and well wishes to my family in Hawaii and Japan in the hours following the massive earthquake and tsunami which flattened most of Miyagi and Fukushima Prefecture.

Despite the dozens of earthquakes, tsunamis and tsunami warnings that I have lived through growing up on the Big Island of Hawaii, including a 7.2 earthquake in 1975, which generated a tsunami that claimed multiple lives, I'd be a fool to underestimate the power of Mother Nature's wrath. Being jaded doesn't pay.

My heart goes out to the displaced families in Japan and to all of the people whose lives ended so abruptly when tragedy struck in broad daylight. Seeing the horrific video of the storm surge washing away innocent lives puts life into perspective.

I have always dreaded boarding the plane after visiting my family in Hawaii. Living 5,000 miles away from my parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends is less than ideal, especially if you consider how unpredictable life is.

When you live so far away from loved ones you never really escape the abyss of worry. Now that my parents are getting older I worry even more. I often think about their compromised health and my concern grows even deeper. If anyone in my family were given just 24 hours to live, it would take a miracle for me to get to him or her before he or she passed. It takes me 14 hours just to get from my home in Wisconsin to my parents home in Hilo... and that's barring any travel delays.

Becoming a parent has only added to my anxiety, because now, not only would I be losing my mom, dad, brother or nephew, my daughter would be losing a beloved grandparent, uncle or cousin. That's the thing about worry--it never ends. Regardless of how old you or your children get, fear, apprehension and worry never subside.

Shortly after learning about the tragedy in Japan I thought about a poem, by Chris Marcum that my mother sent me a couple of years ago. It's called A Mother's Worry Never Ends, and I think it speaks volumes for parents and children everywhere, especially during this time when many of us are contemplating the preciousness of life.

A Mother's Worry Never Ends

We worry from the time we conceive.

Will they make it to trimester three?

We worry about how much they eat

and even when they poop and pee.

We worry when they're two and three,

all the scrapes, bumps and boo-boo'd knees.

We worry about them cutting hair

and how much of their sister's they're willing to spare.

We worry about all the teeth that must come free

and if they will need Orthodontistry.

We worry if they will pass the class,

from their first day of school until their last.

We worry about them going off to college

and if we gave them enough knowledge.

We worry for them when their heart does break

and the scar that they might never shake.

We worry for them on their wedding day,

that the love they share may never fade.

We worry for them when their baby comes

now their worrying has just begun.

A Mother's worry never ends.

It just evolves and grows and starts again.

Learn more about Michele Cheplic

Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism.

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