My mother. The worrier.

so mid-afternoon Sunday in the middle of my trial bike run to work i had stopped off at my friends' Laura and Leisy's for a social visit. [thanks again, Estrella, for the blueberry pancakes and iced coffee – yum!] when my phone rang. knowing it was my mum and knowing how she worries, i figured she was calling to make sure i had arrived home okay. now it's been a decade-and-a-half since i've even shared a roof with my mum and so it had been a long, long, long time since she had needed to call and check on my whereabouts. i knew it would be a tenderly amusing conversation, but i was not prepared for this:

ME: hey, mum!

HER: are you home safe? or are you still at your friend's house?

ME: i'm still here at Leisy's, mum. don't worry. i'm safe.

HER: you know…i was thinking. [here's where she traditionally lays out her worries]
…you should carry some form of ID on you.

ME: i have my driver's license with me, mum.

HER: no. i mean. some ID like emergency contact information. you should have that on you at
all times.

ME: yeah, you're right. you know.
i added you to my driver's license as my Official Emergency Contact. did you know you can do that?

HER: no….no. i didn't know that.

ME: yeah. i went to the website and added you. so…if the police find me, they will be able to contact you when they scan my driver's license.

HER: well i still think you should carry a card that says: my name is jen…and my emergency contact is so-and-so.
you should laminate it and put it in your pocket. and carry it everywhere.

ME: well…i can write it in my bike helmet. there's a place for that. i just haven't filled it out yet.

HER: [and this is the one that gave me pause]
but…but…what if someone chases you down and runs you off the road and beats you up and steals your stuff. how are the police going to find me THEN?!

ME: [after a stifled gasp and a pause]
Mom, that's reeeeally …. Disturbing.

HER: well, you know that stuff happens!



In all fairness. I have the most amazing mum in the world. And generally, she manages quite a healthy balance of keeping her devastating visions of horror to herself. But she's right. It's a scary world in which to be an independent woman. Thing is. I'd rather worry about the perils of cycling into those roadside cacti, but there are things with a far worse sting than that.