Where Does the Time Go?

This is a multiple layer post...so bear with me

1 - Captain Chaos turned 4 last Tuesday and I'm still sitting here wondering how in the world that possibly has happened. Which brings up #2...

2 - BB and I observed our 8th anniversary on the same day...I say observed because, well, we were driving home from that fateful event following our camping trip and have yet to actually have a date.

3 - Littlest One is officially 12 weeks old...yikes! I tell you what...they say time flies when you're having fun and based on that, I must be having a laugh riot here at my house...I still have trouble believing that I'm no longer pregnant with Captain Chaos, let alone that I now have 3 children 4 and under...

I also realized that it's been a long time since I posted anything of real substance, and after reading a blog post on childhood treats, I started thinking about my memories of my childhood, and wondered when it got so scary out there?

I mean, I didn't grow up in the middle of nowhere, or out in the country. I've lived in this town my whole life, and I distinctly remember going off to the park by myself or with my brothers, and not with my mom, and later, riding my bike the 1.5 miles along a busy street to the 7-Eleven to get a Slurpee, or Laffy Taffy with my money, ALONE...I remember being dropped off at the mall to hang out with my friends, or being left at the movie theater to see the summer movies played in the mornings, or even, being left at the public swimming pool with my friends for hours at a time with no parental supervision.

I think about this now, because I see my own kids have the same social gene that their daddy and I do, in that they'll talk to anyone or anything that'll stand still and listen to them...they make friends with anyone, and share information with them too!

I don't want them to lose that ability and trust and innocence of sharing things with people and I want them to always be able to make people feel welcomed, and befriended in any situation...but at the same time, I'm terrified that the someone they're talking to will turn out to be a bad, horrible, evil person that will use that character trait to their advantage and do harm to my children or my finances, or something...

And I think my friend in Canada who saw a bear with her toddler on their walk has it easier! A bear might try to eat you, but they won't steal your child and molest them, or commit ID theft or fraud...and really, I'd rather be mauled by a bear than go through something like that...