Don't worry, Mom. I'm fine.

When I was a teenager and living with my Mom, I felt very responsible. She worked long hours and I was frequently home alone. I cooked, cleaned, was a good student and never gave her much reason to worry about me.

But, she is my Mom. So, I am sure that she did worry about me. But more on that in a moment.

The other day I heard a mysterious bonk coming from my son's bedroom. When I called up the stairs to see if he was OK and what the noise was, he responded with "Don't worry about it, Mom."

He's four. No scarier sentence has ever been uttered from his lips.

I checked on him in person, helped him clean up the mess of stuff that had fallen off his shelf, but stopped just short of telling him that I would always worry about him.

Because that's what parents do. We worry.

The good news is that worrying might not be such a bad thing. A few recent studies have shown links (weak links, but they are still there) between worrying and intelligence levels.

Of course, all that worrying has to be tempered with moderation. You can't spend your life in fear or you'll get nothing done. And that is why I didn't tell my son that I was worried about him. Instead, I told him that I was always interested in what he was doing, and it was my job to make sure he was safe.

Which brings us back to my Mom. Because there are times when life gets away from me and I forget to text her that I am fine. Does my Mom still worry about me? Yes, of course she does. She is my Mom.

What's the biggest worry you want to let go of in the new year? Share with me in the comments.