Wyatt These Days

Wyatt is my sweetheart.  He always has been.  But lately I find myself cherishing him even more than usual.  When he hugs me... When he spontaneously says, "Love you, mom"... When he tells me I did good kindness...  He just melts me.  Whatever he feels, I feel times ten.

Three nights ago he had a nightmare.  I awoke with Logan by my bedside telling me Wyatt was in his bed crying and calling for me.  When I went in, Wyatt still seemed half asleep, so I just hugged him and laid with him until he fell asleep.

The next night I was tucking the twins in after stories and Wyatt kept interrupting me, telling me he wanted his Ten Timid Ghosts book in his bed.  When I finally got over to tuck him in, I realized I had misheard him, and he did NOT want the Ten Timid Ghosts book in his bed, near his bed, or even in his room.  He told me to take it downstairs.  I assured him I would and when I asked him why, he said it was because ghosts are scary.  We talked over what's real and what's pretend and he seemed better, although I took the book downstairs anyway, just to be safe.

I decided that night to rock him and as I rocked him, I sang, as I always do, with my eyes closed.  When I opened my eyes at the end of the song and looked down at Wyatt's sweet face, I saw that he had tears in his eyes, and his lip was in the biggest sad-pout I had ever seen.  I asked him if he was going to cry, and he just burst into tears.

After nearly ten minutes of crying hysterically, he finally calmed down enough to talk.  Then we had a chance to discuss his bad dream.  He told me that he dreamed he was at a haunted house and he went down a fire-slide and burned his feet off.  I thought I was going to cry as he told me about it,  clutching at me and sobbing in fear.

I let him get all his emotions out, cradling him close, then I assured him that I was here, and Daddy was here, and his brothers were here, and in addition to all of us, God is here, keeping us safe.  Then I went over, again, what is real and what is pretend.  But, oh, how my heart was breaking for him.  His fear was so real, so visceral.  

Thankfully in the two nights since, he's had no nightmares, no bouts of crying and no mention of scary things (Halloween related or otherwise).  I'm so grateful that I get to be the one who is his soft place to land. That he knows he can share those things with me.

I hope that's always the case.