I always leave the kitchen light on when I go to bed, if the kids are out, so that if I wake up in the night and the light is out, I will know they are safely home. He Who Can Fix Anything will wake me up if he notices the light is still on and tell me she's not home (now it is only our daughter) and then demand that I phone her to find out where she is and what she is doing. She is 30.
The other night she worked until 10 and as usual I left the light on and went to sleep. At 1a.m, he wakes me up and asks me where she is. "With her friends," I mumble and try to go back to sleep. "Phone her," is His Majesty's command. Sighing heavily, I press the appropriate buttons and of course her phone just rings. I put my head back on the pillow. "What did she say?" "No answer," I mumble. "Phone her and find out where she is!"
This time I get up and go to the kitchen to make tea and press the appropriate buttons. Obviously the call is cut off. So I know that she has looked at her phone and knows it's me! "Where is she?" Another imperious call from His Majesty, still comfortably ensconced under the duvet while disturbing my night. "I'm sure she's fine," say I as I call her again.
This time the phone is answered instantly. "I'm at ........ in .......... I'll be home just now.....I'm not 15!"
Fortunately she understands that it's her father causing her to have to take a call from her mother while socialising. And I'm sure they would also be happy to have a mother that doesn't care about embarrassing them just to be sure they are alright.
I think this is why our children are supposed to leave home. So that we never wake up in the middle of the night and find the kitchen light on and then need to worry about whether they are safe. I prefer to work on the assumption that everything is fine unless you hear otherwise. Worrying never changed anything.
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