Worry Box

This is a Worry Box:

It's so tiny, it can fit in the palm of your hand. Who knew that you could hold all your worries in such a itty bitty container. Todd was given this box while at Woodbadge (his little scout sleep over). A member of his group (uh, I mean troop) is from Guatemala. He brought each person their own box. It's native. This little Worry Box has traveled far.

When you slide off the top, these little dolls are inside:

Can you imagine making these little dolls that are no bigger than your fingernail? That would give me some serious worry. But they're so cute. I find myself opening the box sometimes just to take a peek at them.


This Guatemalan Worry Box is to be used to rid yourself of worry. The keeper of the box is instructed to remove a doll for each worry and place it under your pillow at night. When you wake in the morning, the worry will be gone.

Don't you wish it was that simple? I do. Or, maybe it is, and I just make it more complicated than I should. I worry away all time and reason. I think all mothers do. We're just wired like that. I wonder why?

The other day I read the results of a recent survey that found that women are less happy than they used to be. How sad, but not all together surprising. We can't seem to stop ourselves from the worry and guilt. We promise not to take on too heavy a load, but we continue to say yes to those who ask. I wonder if the women in Guatemala are less happy? Do they lay in bed at night and review in their mind all that they haven't done right during the day? Or, do they use their Worry Box and drift calmly to sleep?

My guess is that we are all simply trying our best to get it right. Sometimes we hit our target, and sometimes we don't. Maybe we spend too much time worrying about the targets we miss instead of celebrating those we achieve.

For now, my Worry Box will have to suffice. I look at it every day, and each time I think to myself, "I'm going to need a bigger box."