a little understanding...

You all know that our kids deal with sleep issues. G, especially, has suffered from nightmares among other things. When she has a nightmare, she needs comforting to be able to get back to the state where she can go to sleep again, and often wants to come in bed with us (ok, all the time wants to come and sleep with us!). This is completely understandable, but sometimes hard to carry out after you have been up with the other two just a half hour before and just want to sleep.

Well, I have received a little bit more understanding this month. Some of you also know what crazy dreams I can have (ok, so maybe G gets her nightmares honestly! And we also found out my mom had nightmares every night as a kid too.), but normally they are just weird things like eating pancakes in the middle of the street at midnight or starring in an episode of Friends that takes place in my parents old farmhouse. But in the past month, I have had 3 nightmares - I can't remember ever having nightmares before. Someone grabs me from behind as I walk into the room and drags me back out very quickly, men hiding in our garage trying to get into the house, dinosaur dragons flying through the air attacking me and my babies (yes C, that one came after your post about the dinosaur show! And I was worried about G having dreams about them! Sheesh.=). Ok, as I type those, they sound a bit silly, but all of them had me waking up in a complete and utter panic.

And all I wanted to do was get a hug from S and snuggle next to him to know that everything was going to be ok.

That's when the reality of G's nightmares and her needing comfort really hit home. Of course I know that she is scared and needs a hug, but not until I experienced it myself did I really truly understand G's reaction after she has a nightmare. Made me want to get out of bed and go hug her even as she slept soundly and peacefully! So now when G has a nightmare, I am going to happily get up and comfort her (or happily kick S out to go and hug her, ha! =) and snuggle her in between S and I if she needs it so that she knows everything is going to be ok - because that is what a mom and a dad are supposed to do, make the world ok for your kids, right?

We will sure try, honey.