Getting off the worry wagon

Are my kids on the computer too much? Are they reading enough? Are their friends a good influence? Are they happy? Will they get (or recover) from Swine Flu? Worrying and being in your 40s -- it seems like the two go hand in hand. And it's not just for parents. In our age bracket, we're also worried about neighbors and friends battling cancer, aging parents, and making the time to take care of ourselves, which always seems to fall at the bottom of the list.

I may be venturing out on a limb here, but it doesn't seem like men worry nearly as much as women. Or maybe they do, but they just keep all their worries inside. My husband and I talk a lot about the kids and the usual worries parents have, but he rarely talks about his personal worries. Me on the other hand? I know I drive him nuts with my excessive worrying about the kids' health, their friendships, how I'm going to get everything done in a day, my aging parents...an on, and on, and on.

Having kids definitely makes you treasure their childhood and the early years when they can truly be carefree -- without worries. I love watching preschoolers skipping off to school excited to seize the day. They look at every moment as an adventure, and they're in awe at the littlest things in life. Wouldn't it be great to get that feeling back as an adult?

I think we have to try by carving out time for ourselves to do things that take our minds off life. I went canoeing on the Charles with the Trustees of the Reservations a couple of weeks ago and it was incredibly therapeutic to take a 2-hour break from my to-do list to do something I'd never done before. At first it felt a little strange to go by myself, and as I was driving to the river launch, I had second thoughts. But I didn't turn back, and in the end it was one of the most memorable experiences in my life. I felt like a little kid in awe at seeing the fall foliage along the river banks, or the Great Blue Heron overhead, or the gorgeous pheasant that popped out of the marsh. At that moment I had absolutely no worries in the world, and it was a phenomenal feeling.

Now I just need to figure out how to keep that feeling alive on a regular basis. Any suggestions for staying off the worry wagon?