Sitting on the couch and getting drunk

It's a matter of trust.

We send our kids out to play with other people's kids all the time. It is a good thing. One of the reasons we moved to this community was so that we could feel better about the kids and families in our neighbourhood. People send their kids to our home as well, and I feel that we are trusted implicitly.

My son has a friend who's parents receive respite for him because of a minor handicap which includes, among other things, poor muscle tone. His parents will sometimes have him come to our house to play with my son, and my wife will be paid for the the visit because there is funding available for the break that the parents receive.

The mom called last night and asked for Joyce. She wasn't in so I took the call. "I have a Christmas party to go to next week, can Joyce look after my son while he comes over for a play with your son?" "Joyce won't be in I'm afraid. She also has a Christmas party to go to the same evening." "But I'll be here. Why don't I look after him while he plays with my son. I'll just be sitting on the couch getting drunk anyways." She laughed loud and long and continued to make arrangements for the visit. I never did say that I was kidding about the getting drunk part.
She trusted me that I was kidding.

Familiarity goes a long way when it comes to trust. If she didn't know me at all, she would have had serious doubt about sending her son. As it is, she will bring her son next week and probably jokingly ask if I'm well on my way to meeting my consumtion goal.

What about the times when we are not so familiar... sending our offspring out to homes where we have not had the opportunity to judge? We are more cautious but we still do it, even if our communities are not so safe. And what is a safe community anyway? Many good places have been surprised by great wrongdoing.

I suppose there is a bigger trust involved. An understanding that we cannot control the things that we cannot control. It goes much further than the lyrics "Que sera, sera, whatever will be, will be. The future's not ours to see, que sera, sera, what will be, will be." It is letting go and hoping in a divine protection at the same time.

I trust that this matters.