Blowing Bubbles

As I write this evening, I hear loud sobbing from the bedroom next door.  My three-year-old decided to throw away her "binky" tonight (we hid it, knowing better than to really throw it in the trash).  In my mind, her binky is a reasonable coping mechanism that allows her some self soothing. When she's ready, she'll really say goodbye.  There are fights worth fighting, but this is not one of them.

This is where my husband and I do not agree.  He's lying next to her in bed hoping that his presence will eventually provide the same comfort and she'll fall asleep.  I'd put my money on her!

In the same room is a terrified six-year-old little girl whose been having nightmares.  Really Scary Nightmares.  And despite her thumb sucking, she has not been able to calm or sooth herself as of late.  She's taken to sitting in a reclining chair in our room, trying with all her might to keep her eyes open so that she won't see the strangers again.  She's been waking with a tremble and shakes as she tries to wake me or my husband for comfort.

We learned a little trick that goes something like this:

"Take a deep breath in.  Imagine or see the strangers or the things that scare you.  Blow them out of your mind, through your mouth, and into a BIG bubble.  Slowly blow that bubble bigger and bigger.  When all the bad and scary thoughts are trapped in your bubble, quickly seal the bubble."

"OK.  Let's get ready to bat that bubble into space - far, far away.  Ready?  1 . . . 2 . . . 3 . . ."(pretend to throw it in the air and bat it into space).

"Now, imagine God.  What does he look like to you?"

"Baby Jesus," says the littlest one.

"The stars in the sky," says the biggest one.

"Big hands holding me," offers Mommy.

"Take a big breath in and see your God wrapping you tight and keeping you safe."

May all your fears and all your worry find their way into bubbles and fly far, far away!