When we’re younger, safety is exciting. It’s something new to learn and master, something to run home to tell our parents about.
We draw pictures teaching safety lessons. We learn songs about safety advice. We practice safety every chance we get: at intersections, when getting on the bus, when riding in a car.
We gladly look both ways, cross the street cautiously and fasten our seatbelts.
But, over the years, something changes.
We stop avoiding cracks in the sidewalks for fear of breaking our mothers’ backs. We stop writing letters to Smokey the Bear.
We grow up and, for some reason, we grow out of safety.
When I got to the office this morning, my coworker had left a picture drawn by her daughter on my desk.
It read: Safety Tip No. 20 – Always pick up your sweater if it falls because someone could trip and fall if you don’t.
These days, we’re more concerned about our sweaters getting dirty when they fall than about the trip and fall risks they create for others.
With sweater weather upon us, maybe we can all take time to think about safety, about others and about our sweaters.