Why I'm Overly Paranoid

We're deep into Spring Cleaning (for the first time.. but that's another story on its own), and yesterday, for the first time ever, we cleaned our living room windows.  I am quite proud to say we did a pretty good job, and you can actually see through the windows, there's even a lot more light than normal.

While we were in the middle of cleaning, I decided to call my mom via FaceTime.  She had called earlier saying she hadn't seen the kids lately, but we've been busy with sickness that it didn't even cross my mind.  Jordan was outside on the other side of the windows, using my mop, to scrub down the windows.  Dagny, Cooper, and I were on the inside spraying the windows, using a microfiber towel to wipe it down.  Bubba was sick and taking a nap downstairs during all of this.  I thought it would be a cute image for my mom to see her grandson helping out around the house.

Her first reaction was, "Be careful leaving Jordan out there like that, he could get kidnapped."

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Do we live in a dangerous area?  Do kidnappers just roam the streets, waiting for every possible moment a child is outside, mind you completely supervised by his mom on the OTHER SIDE OF THE WINDOW, so they can snag them away?  I get that there are kids who get kidnapped outside of the home, or even from their homes, but I'm quite positive those are the exception, not the rule.  It's not like Jordan was outside playing by himself, without me being nearby for a long time, he was within 2 feet of me, only separated by a window.  I couldn't even believe the comment.  I mean, I get that she was probably thinking of moments when I might leave Jordan alone...

"I'm right here Mom," I replied.

"Still, you never know, someone could come and take him."

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Let me tell you, this is an entirely common reaction from my mom.  And in thinking about it, I think that's why I'm as paranoid and distrusting of everyone as I am.

I knew before I was 16 to NEVER TAKE A DRINK FROM A STRANGER.  To NEVER LEAVE MY DRINK ALONE AND THEN COME BACK TO IT.

I was not even in college when my mom told me this.

I walk to my car alone LOOKING OVER MY BACK, CLUTCHING ONTO MY PEPPER SPRAY, and my keys are always ready to go before I get to the parking lot.

I once watched a Dateline about a husband who poisoned his wife slowly with blue gatorade laced with antifreeze, and I won't go near Gatorade.  

I once watched a movie about a girl who got raped on the racetrack when she was working out, and I won't go near a racetrack, or anywhere at night, by myself, to avoid putting myself in any dangerous situation.

My eyes are always darting around making observations like I'm Sherlock Holmes whenever I'm with my kids, how tall is that person that has been near us for a while, why is it so peculiar that this stranger keeps showing up at the same aisles as us?  Does he really need the SAME grocery items as us?  Is that a coincidence or is he stalking us?

A few times, my paranoia has come in handy, when some creepy guy kept following me at a somewhat sketchy mall appeared to go into EVERY SINGLE RANDOM store I went into (I started to go into random ones to test if he was following me), and I finally ended up telling a Victoria's Secret saleslady someone was following me (I had been in the store already, went back, and he followed me back, and after talking to her, I noticed he backed off at which point I boogied to the closest exit and into my car, never looking back).

And I wonder if my mom had anything to do with that.  So I guess there's the good and the bad...and that's why I'm overly paranoid.