No fear. It's not just a t-shirt.

I got a nasty-gram from someone about my post yesterday. She was quick to remind me that there are tons of pedophiles on the internet and shared her opinion that I shouldn't have put a half-nekkid picture of my daughter on the internet.

Okay. Duly noted.

Here's the thing:  I don't want to live my life in fear of what could possibly happen. No. Really. I get the fact that there are weirdos on the internet. Truly... I get it. But, the chances of my daughter's picture ending up on a child porn site are really, REALLY low. And I'm sorry, but that picture was hilarious and soooooo Ella. It was worth sharing that little peek into our family life.

Life is all about taking chances. Every time I get into the car to go to the grocery store, I take the chance that I will be in an accident. Every time I eat raw cookie dough, I take the chance that I will get salmonella poisoning. Every time I post something on the internet, I take the chance that someone won't like it. But, I refuse to live my life in a way that keeps me from taking those small risks. To me, living a life that is 100% safe 100% of the time is a terrible way to live.

Our entire society (well, American society at least) is obsessed with fear... what could happen. We live in a nation in which I can't fly on an airplane with a full bottle of shampoo. We convince pregnant women that even so much as a single glass of champagne could irrevocably harm their unborn babies. We're afraid to be too friendly, talk to strangers, or use our real names on the internet because someone could track us down, find us and kill us. We worry about safety to the point of ridiculousness. I'm all for car seats and cross walks and vaccinating children. But, there has to be a line in the sand in which I say, "Okay... that's enough fear for me, thank you very much." I will not make my children wear bike helmets while they're riding around in our cul-de-sac. I will not freak out and refuse to eat yogurt that expired 3 days ago. I will use my real name on my blog. And, I will occassionally post a photo that is full of silly toddler fun, and happens to have a butt cheek hanging out. But most of all, I just refuse to live scared all the time.

Life is too short to live scared.