Love With the Wrinkles on It

Last night, I stayed up late into the night to watch two simultaneous TV shows (how’s that?). One was about parents who are very concerned about their kids’ safety that they are, in effect, raising cotton wool kids. I stumbled upon this feature show because the phrase “cotton wool” caught my eye. Curiosity got the better of me because I really wanted to know what “cotton wool kids” actually mean.

That particular show is very contemporary UK. It is sad to note that this country has a very high death rate among teenagers due to violence. What is very lonely about the whole thing is a lot of the victims are good kids who were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Had they been more closely monitored and made better aware of the dangers that await them, who knows, they would still be here today.

There was one parent in the show who wanted to implant a tracking chip on her daughter’s arm just for her to be able to monitor where she is every moment of the day. To that parent, that will significantly decrease her worries. On the other hand, some of the kids who were part of the show also voiced out their fear of being harmed by other teenagers in the street.

The other show was of a completely different genre – it was on forensic science. The case at hand was about a 15-year old girl and her 14-year old step brother, who were found dead somewhere in Texas a long time ago. The teen-agers were killed by an acquaintance, who picked them up from their home in the middle of the night for a country ride. That is where the two TV shows came together for me, into one interesting study.

The children’s father/stepfather in the murder cases saw them drive away with their killer that night and the biggest question in my head was, why did he allow them to leave the house in the dead of the night – just like that? The show actually provided a very apt background to the cotton wool kids show in the other channel.

In fairness, the murder case tackled by the forensic science show happened two decades ago, when life was a bit safer for little ones and young people. It might have been that it was natural for teenagers to go for a thrill ride in the country late in the night back then.

But not these days. It would be unthinkable (at least for me) to allow teenagers to go out for a drive in the country with an unfamiliar person in the middle of the night. The parents featured in the cotton wool kids show might be a bit on the extreme end in terms of their concerns and the lengths they go to for their kids’ safety, but watching the program simultaneously with the murder story on the other channel, those parents seemed sensible to me.

It is indeed a scary prospect to let one’s child go forth into the wide, evil world on their own. I dread that day when my turn comes. The fact that I now have an 11-year old son means that it will be very soon. I am sometimes gripped with panic attacks and there have been bouts of intense desire to run away from such a proposition, which is impossible, of course.

After watching those two shows, I went to my boys’ room and seeing them asleep like angels, my heart swelled with overwhelming joy over the fact that they are mine and at the same time, with an overwhelming desire to protect them and shield them from pain and the dangers in the outside world. I wish I do not have to be such a worry wart, but I can’t help it. I love my kids dearly and though I entrust them to God on a daily basis for safekeeping, there is always that concern over whether they are alright. I think, this is my way of showing my love for them. After all, worry over loved ones is just love with the wrinkles on it.

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