Those Dang Monsters

I was working late the other night, completely drained from a very full day.  I was just about to close shop when  I heard a blood curdling scream coming from my daughters bedroom.  Noelle, is my 3 soon to be 4 year old baby girl and she was suddenly jolted awake by a horrifying night terror.  Her tiny voice caused a sickening chill to erupt at the base of my skull and quickly spread down my neck.  I immediately scrambled towards her bedroom.  I'd never heard her scream like that before in my life and it was the worst sound EVER.  I never want to hear that sound again.  She called for her mommy several times before I could reach her.  However, mommy was sound asleep in the next room, passed out from an exhausting week and amazingly didn't hear.

When I got to the room, Noelle immediately stopped crying and practically jumped into my arms.  I held her  tight for awhile comforting her, not saying much but just allowing her to slowly calm down.  When I finally asked her what was the matter she told me monsters were in her bedroom.  We've all heard about the monsters in the closet and under the bed before.  We've probably all seen them when we were kids, lurking in the dark corners of our spaces.  But it's a totally different thing when you're holding your own precious little one who is convinced that there is something there.  Something that at that very moment she is watching, and trying to shoo away with her little hands.  As I held her close I spoke calmly to her about it, and after a short while she began to calm down.

Now I try to be as truthful and transparent as possible as I can with my kids, taking into consideration their understanding and age.  I couldn't tell my daughter that there are no such thing as monsters because I honestly don't believe that.  Monsters do exist.  I'm not talking about Frankenstein or Dracula or the Wolf Man from the movies.  Real monsters exist, and they look just like you and me.  They are hidden in the deep recesses of our hearts and minds, waiting for an opportunity to emerge.  Most of us deny their existence.  But you know what I mean when I say that there is good and evil within all of us.  We simply choose which way to lean.  Long before movies and televison, stories of monsters have been with us.  Since the beginning of time they've been used to make us aware of the dangers around us, or to simply keep us in line.  They come in all shapes and forms and are distorted through memory and constant retellings, but their origins come from some form of reality.

So instead of making light of the situation, telling my daughter that there's no such thing as monsters, I told her with all seriousness that monsters were absolutely not allowed in her room.  I told her that no one is allowed in her room unless me or her Mommy says so, and that includes monsters.  And no monster is going to get past me.  She nodded in agreement.  Then I prayed with her, prayed for her peace of mind, and told the visions to go away.  Then I put some soothing music on for her and lay her back underneath her covers.  By this time, mommy was up and she took over.  Noelle took the opportunity to retell her story.  It  became much more dramatic with mom in the room.

She finally drifted off to sleep about 40 mins later.  We kept the light on in the room, and she wore a little sleep mask my wife configured for her.  It seemed to work well.  She slept the rest of the night soundly, and  I chalked the entire experience up to too much Sponge Bob and scary Halloween commercials.  Finally I slipped into bed as well and immediately fell into a deep sleep.  I was out for no more than 2 and 1/2 hours before I was jolted awake by another blood curdling scream.  It felt like 20 bags of ice were dropped on my face as I slept, and I practically fell out of bed.  This time the sound came from the living room.  As I raced down the hallway to find out what was wrong, I heard laughter.  I was stunned to find both of my sons wide awake and seated on the couch watching cartoons at 6:30 in the a.m.  My youngest son Q has a propensity to screech at the top of his lungs for no apparent reason other than to make a dramatic point about something that in his mind is the most serious thing on the planet.  Of course I was completely livid.  But at least this time I didn't have to worry about any monsters.

The following night Noelle asked to me keep a night-light on for her, but she slept as soundly as she ever did all through the night.  I on the other hand still haven't fully recovered from the loss of sleep.  Dang monsters!