Last night was rough. I went to bed, late, a little after 11pm. Awakened I was, at midnight, by a screaming 2-year-old. I thought he must have a stuffed nose, so I rubbed some Vics salve under his nose. I offered him a drink. I re-covered him. I rubbed his head. Yet every time I began to walk away, back to some much needed rest, he screamed in protest.
7-year-old David woke up (believe me, this testifies to the vehemence of Joshua's crying, for David sleeps like a rock). He was quite upset with the crying and when he told Joshua to "get out!" I knew we had a dilemna. So I carried Joshua to the living room and rocked him in the big green chair. He immediately said "please take me back to my bed Mama". He then said "cover me". Then he said "may I have some more Vics salve?" Then..."get me a drink of water" (Command man, anyone? :-) )
So I stayed by his side awhile and rubbed his head. When he seemed settled I began to go back to my own bed, but he immediately awakened and began to scream. If this wasn't completely out of character for him, I may have felt that he was being willful. But he seemed almost fearful. Eventually I rocked him to sleep in the big green chair (around 1am).
At breakfast he sat down at his stool, as cheerful as ever. Here was our conversation:
:: Joshua, are you feeling sick today? You look pretty well for a sick boy. ::
:: No Mama, I'm not sick. ::
:: Maybe you had a bad dream last night. Do you remember dreaming? ::
without hesitation
:: You were driving away from me Mama. ::
:: Were you afraid? ::
:: Yes. ::
Suddenly, everything clicked into place. Joshua had dreamed that I was driving away from him and leaving him. He was so frightened that he cried out. And when I came to him he wasn't willing to let me out of his sight. Hopefully this will not be a recurring dream :-).
Today...
Was a great day, considering the sleep loss. School consisted of shoe-tying class (we are forging through the frustration triumphantly!) for 7yob and 5yog, playdough for the little ones, upper atmosphere artwork (A Child's Geography by Ann Voskamp), Between the Lions, math flashcards and language lessons (First Language Lessons by Susan Wise Bauer) for 7yob. Right now the entire family (minus me, who is currently blogging :-) ) are watching a NOVA special, so we are skipping our read-aloud of Winnie the Pooh. I'd better quit being anti-social and go join them.
Benjamin II (my son), also known as "Benjer" to his friends and siblings, still sleeps in bed with us. When he wakes up and I am not there, he will call out, "Dadda!" His call is almost one of "do you still exist?"
ReplyDeleteHe has developed a little night-time ritual with me. When he gets tired, he will come to me and pull me into the bedroom, where we crawl under the covers and he snuggles up to me while I ask him questions about his day.
His language skills have not developed as fast as Joshua's, so our conversations are somewhat one-sided. Minutes into the little ritual, he's usually drifting off.
Dreams can be so real, though--especially to a young mind that hasn't gained life's experience to determine what is dream and what is reality. I have had some very vivid dreams--as an adult!--that made me question whether it was a dream or a memory.
I need to follow your lead and have a tying shoe LESSON. Instead of the frantic thing I do at the back door when we should already be in the van enroute! Dh worked with dd tonight 15 minutes BEFORE we walked out the door--MUCH better idea ~grin~
ReplyDeleteHope you get a good night sleep tonight, Danielle!
Off for mine, Lord willing!
Warmly,
Ann V. HolyExperience