Mr. Worst Case Scenario

Conversation between me and one little boy with a very active imagination today:

Driving home from school, we come up to the traffic light near our house. The gas station on the corner has a small retention pond in front of it which is surrounded by a chain link fence. It is currently bone dry.

J: Mommy, why is there a fence there?

Me: Well, when it rains, all the water runs off the road and fills up there so that we don't have a flood. They put the fence there so that people don't accidentally fall in.

J: But Mommy, what if there were a rock on the sidewalk and someone wasn't looking where they were going, and they tripped on the rock and fell over the fence and into the water? Then what would we do?

Me: (Being silly) Well, we could get a fishing pole and fish him out.

J: (Very seriously) But what if we kept catching fish instead?

Me: Well, we could encourage him to swim to the edge.

J: What if he was sinking?

Me: We could call a lifeguard to swim out and save him.

J: But what if there wasn't a lifeguard around?

Me: Well, the police station is right across the street. I'm sure a police officer could save him.

J: But what if the police officers were all busy catching speeders?

Me: Well, then we could use a really long stick to reach the guy.

J: But what if the stick slipped out of our hands?

Me: We could get another stick.

J: But what if all of the sticks slipped out of our hands?

Me: (Grasping now) We could throw him a tire.

J: What if the tire sank?

Me: Tires don't sink. They're full of air.

J: What if it deflated and all the air blew out?

Me: (Silence....) Well, it's a good thing that fence is really tall.

J: Yeah, but ...

Me: Let's see what's on the radio.


Do I see an anxiety problem in the making here? Or is this the stuff every 4-year-old thinks about?