So this is the payback for coming home past curfew all those times.

Ever since I became a mother I am surrounded by accidents waiting to happen. Life-changing accidents that knock the soul straight out of your throat. I notice the cables under the coffee table and see an 8 month old Eloise in a mass of tangles. I think of the huge house plant in the dinning room and see Eloise at 14 months attempting to climb it, ending in a pile of rocks and dirt. I think of her bedroom window to which we have no lock and see her hanging over the decrepit BBQ screaming for us to save her.

Is this normal? Will this be how I view the world for the rest of my life – as potential death traps for my off spring? As soon as you become a mother are you doomed to be overly sensitive to any potential danger to your young? Because this is beyond stressful.

Often instead of gazing at my sleepy daughter as she nurses her last few mouthfuls of milk before bed and being filled with warm delicious wonderment I have my heart in the back of my mouth racing with the frantic images of how my daughter could potentially come to harm.

This motherhood job sure ain’t no walk in the park. Oh God. The Park. What could happen there? Please tell me this uber vigilant over protective mama fear ends at some point.