My grandmother was ridiculously overprotective. She once made me wear a helmet to middle school because she worried I would get hurt — not realizing that wearing a helmet in the sixth grade would get me hurt.
In the midst of being beaten up, though, I felt reassured when I saw a busload of kids with helmets. I remember thinking, “Oh. They must have overprotective grandmas, too.”
“See?” I said, “I’m just like them.”
That just made the beatings worse.
