Thursday, November 11, 2010

A Pocket full of love

Parenting.  The one thing in my life that I Cherish the most.  The one thing that I can connect with.  The one thing that I can say, I am a part of.  I am a very proud parent, as most of us are.  We, as parents know that children don't come with handbooks, although, sometimes I wish they did. 
Having children can also be very overwhelming at times too.  Just recently, a few weeks ago, we moved into a new home.  Our new home is wonderful...in the eyes of myself and husband that is.  Kids are funny the way they see life and how they view certain situations.  I received a phone call at the end of September 2010 ending in a 30 day move out date.  I of coarse was a little worried, giving the circumstances, but also understood that the house needed to be renovated and sold.  My husband and I viewed the situation as an answered prayer, a relief to some debt we've been holding on to.  But, in our children's eyes, that was different.  Fast forwarding to today, we are almost settled and very happy, so I thought anyway.  A few days ago, my husband and I went to go tuck the kids into bed and as we entered our son's room, I immediately knew something was wrong.  As tears streaming down his face, I knelt down to him and asked him what was wrong.  I don't think we were suppose to see those tears, which made me really upset.  How could my baby shed tears and mommy not know about it?  laying down next to him, embracing him really helped calm the tears, but not the fear.   The next word out of his mouth, really startled me.  "Mommy" he said.  "I'm home sick."  I was taken back by those words.  Did I miss something? How could I have overlooked his biggest fear? At that given moment, I felt I had failed as a parent.

Laying next to my 9 year old son, all I could do was hold him.  I thought many times, is this enough? Wrapping my arms around him, kissing him repeatedly on the forehead, I couldn't help but  to understand his fears.  I got it, I got how he felt lost and scared.  My 9 year old just lost his only security.  He had everything and anything in the world that any other boy would ever dream of having.  Forts, room to run, ESCAPE from mom and dad! That was sacred to him, and now it's gone forever!  Laying there with him, I thought over and over again, just HOW could I fix this? T.I.M.E, Time will heal all wounds, but will it to a 9 year old boy?

We have now been in our new home for almost 2 weeks now, and I have seen a bit of improvement, but I do know, he is still very lost.  My husband has been so good with him however.  Spending more time with him, involving him in projects and even going to the extent of starting on the newest project....A TREE fort.  We are hoping this will cure all of his pain associated with moving.  I hate to see my children go through these emotional times, but I know that its all part of growing up.

1 comment:

Debra Heschl Photography said...

Hey Sheri, I know it is a tough thing to deal with! We went through it with our girls for a few months...we comfort them as much as we could to make them feel better. Eventually it does get better! I am glad that you & your family are getting settled into your new home! My your new home be blessed!