Route 66 Installment #48: The Monsters Under Our Beds (and in Our Closets)

I was five.

I lay awake at night, terrified that the little girl on the cover of this book was hiding in my closet.

After my mother read Charlotte’s Web to me I developed a fear of spiders coming down from my ceiling and landing on my face.

Thankfully, neither of those things actually happened and I survived to adulthood. (But that cover image may be the reason I sobbed uncontrollably on my first day of kindergarten.)

I developed new fears as I aged.

In my teens through my 50s, I stressed about (in no particular order):

• My kids’ health and well-being (which never REALLY ends)
• Aging itself
• Eating and traveling alone
• Getting fat
• Various work situations, including becoming destitute

Many people (including me, thankfully) evolve as they age and they become less anxious about things they can’t control.

Of course, I still have a random list of monsters under my proverbial bed, including:

1. Losing my ability to see/write/think
2. Roller coasters that speed upside down
3. Super-graphic horror movies (although I love the Walking Dead)
4. Drowning or getting caught in a fire
5. Really nasty spiders
6. Dying suddenly and leaving a bunch of stuff for my kids to deal with
7. Dying suddenly and not being able to travel to the places I still want to see (although I’ll be dead then and really won’t care. Those few minutes before my life ends might irk me, however.)

I have a?Pinterest Board ?of other things that mildly scare me, but I generally think of myself as being pretty fearless.

Sadly, fear paralyzes many people my age.

Fear of change, fear of learning new things, fear of strangers, fear of travel, fear of?technology , and fear of getting wrinkles are all commonplace among some of my peers. Financial fears are based in reality and are?very prevalent among older women .

Knowing how to confront and analyze that proverbial monster under the bed is critical to learning how to explore and enjoy life — at any age.

Stress kills.

As we creep closer to Halloween, I resolve to overcome my remaining fears (except maybe the roller coaster thing) and enjoy life to its fullest!

That creepy little big-eyed girl doesn’t know who she’s dealing with today!

Fear facts:

• How to help kids overcome fears
• Fear and hatred of strangers
• A VERY scary article about spiders. ?Don’t click if you’re squeamish.
• People over 65 take more risks. Woo hoo!