This week Maia added a new favorite to her repertoire of summer camp experiences. Rock climbing. I did not know such a summer camp existed, but it turns out that we have an indoor rock climbing facility practically in our own back yard, and they do, indeed, host weekly camps. But there was a hitch. In order for children to participate, parents must sign a release form acknowledging that the equipment could fail and your child could, you know, die.

I have read and signed my share of waivers in my time on this planet, but until now, I have never been scared into having second thoughts. This one, however, made me wonder if I was sending my child to certain injury or death. So I asked about the safety record of the facility and, satisfied with the response, took a deep breath and initialed next to each and every possible dire consequence and every imaginable disclaimer of liability.

My friend and her daughter were there at drop-off on Monday morning, too, and together we also inquired about helmets. Turns out they are only provided upon request. We did not request; we insisted.

Because of our carpool arrangement, my friend picked the girls up on Monday afternoon only to discover that ours were the only two kids wearing helmets. One of the counselors pulled her aside and discreetly showed her how the helmets were really more of a hindrance than a help. Still, Maia and her friend gamely wore the helmets and when asked about them by the other kids, they knowingly explained, “overprotective mothers.”

Oh man oh man, when did I turn into one of THOSE mothers? And where did my daughter gain the confidence to take it all in stride, rather than sink into the ground in embarrassment as I would have done at her age?

My friend and I deliberated briefly and decided to rescind the helmet mandate. The girls completed the rest of the week helmet free, and you know what? Nobody died. But still, my observant readers will notice that I waited until the end of the week to blog only in hindsight about being a silly overprotective mother. That was intentional.

Just in case.