By Jon Kass
“Fear is the mind-killer.” This portentous quote from Dune popped into my head as I scolded myself for again falling victim to the anxieties of my relatives. My newly pregnant wife, with a newly broken foot, was treating herself to a well deserved weekend with friends a few states away. She had every ability and intention of driving herself.
“Are you serious?” my sister wheedled. “She will get a blood clot in her leg and die! Buy her a flight!”
Obviously not wanting that, and not appreciating the implication that I was willing to risk such an outcome to both mother and baby, I began researching flights. Of course, with the admonition arriving 24 hours before the trip was to begin, the prices were as punishing as you’d expect. Nevertheless, I bit the bullet and flung my wife to the skies. She was appreciative but also annoyed that I’d abbreviated her meditative time on the road with a new audio book and new music. “It’ll be good for you,” I convinced no one, “and we don’t want you getting a clot.”
Had the trip gone smoothly, this episode may have merely faded into memory. But fate would not have it so, and her return flight, with a total travel time already longer than the drive, was delayed by 6 hours and ultimately canceled. The guilt I felt for putting her into this situation compounded the stress of this all-too-common nightmare. The entire affair was an avoidable consequence of my sister’s contagious anxiety.
