Thank Goodness, My Child is Crying

If you have ever known a young child (or a childish adult), you may know that the orchestrated noise called the "cry" is a tradition celebrated nearly once a day...or hour (if he's really having a hard day). And if you've ever known an adult who has been around a child when this vocal tradition is celebrated, you may well understand the emotional volcano that fights to erupt inside you.

But today I had a unique experience with this tradition--today I had an amazing feeling as I heard my boy rush (in baby steps speed) with a loud cry to the door that I had just shut between us. We had just finished our daily wrestle and spins in the air, and he apparently was not ready to be done with the fun. That's when it hit me--I feel so good inside because he is crying...because he wants to be with ME!

To avoid seeing a nimbostratus cloud roll over my child's face, I "let" Mommy tend to his needs and continued on my path to begin jogging (yes, the jog was longer than the path!). The warm and pick-me-up feeling stuck with me and pushed me to ponder why my child's nightmare was my current joy. I don't think I discovered the answer but I did wonder, "Did he really want ME or did he want the feeling of fun, companionship and love that we felt together just minutes before?"

For purposes of learning a lesson for myself (and posting a new blog), I concluded that he merely associated those great feelings with being with Daddy. And he did NOT want those feelings to go away!! Seeing me leave out that door caused a compulsory panic, perhaps thinking that such great feelings would be gone...and when would they ever come back? I thought to myself (still): "Do I have such a longing for good feelings and good things that bring those good feelings that I panic or fall apart when they leave me?"

Do I allow fear, doubt, worry or discouragement to push love, peace, fun and companionship out the door and not even recognize that I am doing it? Or am I positively attached to those pick-me-up feelings so much that I never want to see them go?

It may not be healthy for a child to become too attached to his parents but I can't think of anything healthier than longing to have those good feelings and doing what you have to do to keep them with you. Or maybe he was just passing on those feelings to Daddy so his Dad could learn something today...