When at the beach earlier this summer, in North Carolina, there was a shark incident close by. Sadly, someone was bitten by a shark.

“Don’t worry,” I told my kids, “We’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure we should go into the water?” My youngest daughter, Avi, asked me.
“Of course,” I said, “The chances of a shark being in the water at the same time you are, being near you, and actually biting you, are incredibly low. Think of all the fun you’ll be missing if you don’t go in the water.”

Zoe wasn’t worried at all. “I have a better chance of winning the lottery,” she said.

And into the water we all went. I didn’t give it another thought. It took Avi a little while to loosen up, but finally she relaxed.

My husband, Jon, who didn’t go to the beach with us, sent me text messages telling me about the shark incident. He wanted me to be aware of the danger lurking. He didn’t ask me to keep the kids out of the water, but he did keep informing me of all that was going on around us.

I did not keep the kids out of the water. Not at all.

We played and jumped waves for hours everyday. I felt like a kid myself. We had a grand time.

But when we got home, the shark incidences continued. There have been a lot of them. In fact, enough to make me feel very glad we’ve already been to the beach this summer, and played in the water. Because now I don’t have to worry about it.

I’m not sure what I would do now, if we were at the beach. Would I let my kids play in the water, or would I be a lot more cautious? A decision I’m glad I don’t have to make.

There’s such a fine line between wanting to get the most out of life, wanting to enjoy every moment, and wanting to keep my kids safe. If I really thought about all the scary things that could happen to my family each day, I probably wouldn’t let anyone leave our house. I’d keep us all in a safe little bubble, fighting off germs and scary people, protecting us from the dangers lurking in the world.

But we can’t live that way.

If we do, we’re going to deny ourselves the opportunity to enjoy all that life has to offer. And I don’t want to turn my kids into people who are afraid of the world.

So, I’ll let my oldest daughter fly to camp this summer, Avi’s already gone to camp, and I’ll hope that the people and plans I’ve made for them go as I expect. And why shouldn’t they?

We have to have faith that things will turn out well, expect the best, and deal with the punches life sometimes throws our way. Because most of the time, things do work out well.

Find meaning each day,

Dara