when do you stop worrying???

[2shoes]

ds is 18.
he now has a life, after years of being a stay in his room kind of teen, he has a good group of mates, nice teens, they don't drink(well not much, but ds doesn't) one has a flat, so safe place to go, he has a nice GF.
so all ok,
yet he rings me to say he is getting bus hom(10.30 saturday night). he is in the centre of town, so why do I then worry, and decide I will not go to bed until he comes home.
??

I don't want to worry you - but I was with my 90 year old mother yesterday and she is worrying that my 67 year old brother is getting a bit forgetful and she thinks he may have the beginnings of Altzheimer's!

God yes... i know what you mean.

DS is 18 and off to Lancaster university next week. I worry.

DD is 23 and living with mate in Lincoln. I worry less about here coz she is streetwise.

My mum still worries about me she says.

So I guess the answer to your question is... never.

You don't. Ever.

My mum still reaches for my hand if we're crossing a road. I'm 44.

you never stop

Which is why I never tell my mum anything other than "life is perfect" stuff, but she still worries about me & my sis. I'm almost 48, sis is 53.

Still worry about DD1 and she's 26. I expect I always. My Dad worries about DH's driving skills. DH is in his sixties and has never as much as scrapped the paintwork on his car.

My mother says never .
I'm 52 and like mumblechum I wouldn't tell her if there was anything seriously to worry about.
Sadly the tables have turned in recent months and I now worry about mum.

You don't stop 2shoes. Although oddly I'm less worried about the one of mine that's 3000 miles away than I am about the others.

never ever.....your a mum from day one and worry,until the day you pop your clogs..x

never

I think the worrying changes. Once your kids have left home, the worry is less pin-point "when will I hear the front door and know he's home safely?" or "will she pass her exams to get to do the job/course she's always dreamed of?" to slightly more broad worries - job security, problems with partner or lack of one, childlessness etc. Once your kids are out living their own lives on their own terms (and hopefully with their own money), I think the worrying doesn't vanish but it's not all-consuming day-to-day as it can be with the kids who are still at home: when at the end of every day there's a fresh pack of issues (friend was mean to me today at school, I don't understand geometry, I'm getting in at 2am, this is my highly unsuitable boyfriend, etc).

So basically, no, it doesn't stop, but it changes in intensity and style, I suspect. When they leave home, you are put in the position of not being personally responsible for their happiness and welfare and chances in life (though some of that is beyond a parent's remit anyway), so the worry is not so much linked to guilt or fear that you've got things wrong and haven't taught them how to manage on their own.

My mum says never.....

No way!! My daughter is at Lancaster uni and is from Lincoln!!! I’m reading old threads and thought this was such a weird coincidence