Stay Safe Or Mom Will Give You A Mall-ing

(While I am away at college, my mom worries about me. I don’t blame her, but she has a poor sense of time and geography.)

Mom: “Are you okay? I heard there was a shooting at your mall.”

Me: “Mom, I’m fine. You left my house just before the shooting. There was no time for me to go to the mall and get shot.”

Mom: “Well, I just wanted to make sure you were safe.”

(Another time:)

Mom: “Please get back to me. There was a shooting at the mall in [Town].”

Me: “I hadn’t heard.”

(I look up today’s news.)

Me: “Mom, the shooting was last year. This was a stabbing.”

Mom: “Either way, I’m glad you’re ok.”

Me: “Thank you for caring. But for the record, I’ve never been to [Town] and have no plans to go. No mall is worth driving over an hour.”

Mom: “Well, I don’t know what you do with your weekends!”

(I know this means that my mom cares, but I wish she could be smarter about when to freak out.)