This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Allstate for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

I'm still learning how to be a mom. I felt maternal as soon as I learned that there was a little bean growing in my belly back in February 2010. Being over protective is only sort of natural, when you're a parent. It's easy to let everyday occurrences and random, yet logical fears of the unknown plague us. I've always been the type of person you might label as a 'scared-y cat,' afraid of the most unlikely scenarios.

When I became a mom, though my first instinct is and always will be to protect my child, I sort of had to learn to live a little and make some room for being spontaneous. I sort of became fearless, taking on  a 'can do' attitude when it came to raising my son. I began to try and experience a lot of new things with my new little family, and rarely let anything get in the way of that.

A recent home invasion to a house in our old, historic neighborhood, however, put a huge damper on my willingness to drop everything and let loose. For weeks, I was paralyzed by fear of someone trying to break into our own home. This fear kept me confined to my house, with doors locked and blinds and curtains closed all day long, even though I am a sun-lover, who loves to have the windows open. I may have hidden in my house for weeks on end, if it hadn't been for my precious two-year-old son, and his innocent, smiling face, asking to go out in the yard and play in the sandbox. As he stared at me, with eyes filled with yearning for that big box of sand, all of the memories we've created and shared together, since his birth came flooding back. I knew that if I let my fear take hold of me, I would not be giving my child the opportunities he deserved for childhood play, learning, and development.

The day that I decided to let go of my fear, turned out to be a wonderful day for our family. I packed my son into the car, and we spent the morning hours at our very favorite county park, where we took a train ride, went to the little petting zoo, and had a marvelous morning together. We followed that with picking up some lunch, but then taking it home to enjoy a picnic lunch together, before cuddling and falling asleep.

I cherish every second I have with my son, and fall in love with him all over again each and every day. These unplanned adventures bring us wonderful memories, which we will hold onto for the rest of our lives. 

Allstate Good Life is encouraging everyone to share their memories of the good times and simple joys of life. We'd love to hear about a time your life was filled with joy, you overcame adversity or fear, etc. Tell us about how it changed your life or outlook on life in the comment section below!

Get out there and make a memory today!