I am instantly awake as I hear the loud, incessent rumbling of the thunder, and the heavy, unceasing drumbeats of the rain hitting our bedroom window; but it is more than that: for above the noise caused by the storm outside, I hear the plaintive, scared cries of my children. And the high-pitched, piercing cries of the weather radio blaring in Johnny's room; GOD, HOW can that child sleep through such a horrible racket????.
"Maman! Maman!" (That is Ronee'; I know her cries. She is not only scared; she is probably hurting pretty bad. [She has JRA, and the rain is probably playing havoc with her joints.])
"MOOOOOM!!!! MOOOOOM!!!" (Jeraldo. Like Ronee', he is scared of storms.)
"MOMMYYYY!!!! MOMMMYYY!!!" (Enriquesa or any of the little ones.)
"WAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!" (THAT is Kwame' screaming.)
Wearily, I throw on my robe, and I grab my cane; trying not to disturb my still-sleeping hubby in the bed, I get up, and I go to see why my children are so upset.
First, I go to Ronee'. She is sitting bolt upright in bed, her dark eyes clearly stricken with fear; and I can see her heart pounding underneath her nightgown. She is clearly scared out of her wits. I sit beside her, and I hold her as she tells me it is storming out. I then check on her two bunkmates, Barbara and Gemini; both are still asleep, snoring soundly. Ronee' has never liked storms; and I am sure she is hurting badly.
"Do you want to sleep with daddy and me?" I ask of her.
Ronee' can't answer; she knows she is too old and too big to be scared of storms, but part of her wants to remain a little girl, and she longs for the comfort and security of lying in between her parents as the storm rages outside.
She opts for the latter. She decides to sleep with us. So, I gently pick her up, and I carry her to our bed; and put her into the bed, cover her up, and kiss her lightly on her nose. She is instantly asleep; but she is clearly in pain. I feel sorry for her; and I remind myself to make an appointment with her doctor, her rheumatologist, to see why she has been having so much in the way of pain as of late.
I then check on Jeraldo. Like Ronee', he is scared of the storm. "Is it gonna' turn into a tornado?" he asks.
"I don't think so, but it IS rather windy out there. Do you want to keep the light on, Honey?" I ask my son.
Jeraldo nods his head vigorously. He then lies back down and falls back to sleep. He is soon in deep, restful slumber.
I then check on the tots. The one that was screaming is Kwame'; the other was Enriquesa. (I KNEW it had to be Enriquesa; I know the sound of her high-pitched voice....) They are both sitting in their cribs, just howling their little heads off. They are scared of all the banging and crashing, too. I gently ease myself into the big rocking chair by their cribs, and I put Kwame' on one knee, Enriquesa on the other; and start to rock slowly, gently, to try to ease their fears.
I don't know why some children are so bothered by storms; while others (like Johnny) don't give a darn about them. But then I know of adults who are as terrified of storms as are the children (if not, even more so). Is it because the storm's fury reminds them of some past painful event in their lives? Or does the flashing lightning and banging thunder remind them of gunshots or bombs going off? WHAT exactly is the reason behind their fear of storms? I often have wondered about this....
But, in the meantime, as a mother, I CAN be there for my children when they become scared. I can hug them and reassure them that things are going to be okay; and I can say that God is right there, with them; and if they get scared, they can always turn to Him for help.
Ah, sweet memories of mommyhood. For I can remember MY maman holding ME when I got scared during the night.
i can relate to the above story, as i was terrified of storms growing up (and still am, today, especially if they "go severe"). except my mother wasn't as compassionate as louisiana is; she would get mad and tell us to "get to sleep!" if we woke her up in the middle of the night! (mom didn't have a good sense of humor...)
It's almost Christmas. Lynn Basil is writing her last book about a secret entrance into the magical doll land of Sha Bebe that she loves so much. Bagannos have taken over the world! Lynn finally meets her dolls in real life. Can she write in a Secret
The familiar lament of dual-career parents raising children is, "I just can't do it all." The Libra Solution provides an alternative - a more satisfying and sustainable work and life approach - to the overwrought modern day norm.
The familiar lament of dual-career parents raising children is, "I just can't do it all." The Libra Solution provides an alternative - a more satisfying and sustainable work and life approach - to the overwrought modern day norm.
