The Concern of a Mother

     I stared as they huddled over me and watched my mother frantically try to keep them away. "Wash your hands please," she said to anyone who even looked my way. Her constant pacing and obsessing over clean hands made me a tad nervous. "Please be careful," she said to one of my neighbors. The lady with white hair and large black glasses looked at my mother with a look of confusion and a tad bit of frustration. However, she calmly said, "I will. Don't worry." "Why is my mother so concerned about my neighbor being careful and having clean hands?" I thought to myself. "Maybe she just got a new vase and doesn't want it to get broken or dirty."
     The doorbell rang and I watched my mother race to the door to answer it. I saw a lady and a man with two children standing at the door. "Please take off your shoes," my mother said. "I do not want dirt tracked in the house." These statements caused me to question why people even wore those things on their feet, if they were asked to take them off. "I don't want Aaron to get sick." "Who me?" I thought to myself. "How can I get sick from people wearing shoes?" I never understood what shoes had to do with my health.
    As I got older, my mother never changed.  Her worry went from people wearing shoes in the house, to worrying about me falling, eating from off of the floor, and getting lost. Due to her fear, I was never babysat by other people, not even family. My mother chose to work from home and took me everywhere that she went. "Why is she smothering me?" I think to myself. I am not like the other children who get to the park for play dates and go to daycare to meet new friends. I am constantly being watched by my mother.
    Now that I am in elementary school, I still do not understand why my mother was and still is such a worrier. She always asks me if I am being picked on, if my teachers are treating me fairly, and if I am making new friends. I do not understand why she continues to ask me these questions. I always tell her not to worry because people are nice and can be trusted. She makes sure that I do not play certain video games and watch certain shows on TV. I don't think this is fair, but it's something that I have learned to deal with. I still don't understand my mom's worry, but I guess I've learned to deal with that too.