EMFs. . . childhood fears. . . so funny. . . You know what they say about parenting. . . it's all guesswork . . . and you are constantly guessing and rewriting the playbook. . . not only for every stage of development, but for each child as well. . .
The quick respite we had after changing Luke's room, was just that: a quick respite. The following nights during the following week were just as challenging and just as frustrating. . . We tried everything. Taking pictures of the corner of his room to show him that there was nothing there.
That's not right! he would cry.
Sam tried asking him if it was boy or a girl he was seeing (because we truly feared that he was seeing something we could not). Nope, it was a ball. It was purple. It was green. And then he tried vacuuming the walls (assuming he was still frightened of the spider/crab he saw). I tried playing hide and seek in his room just so he would feel that it was a fun place to be (and that worked, for an hour).
And then he started calling the unknown thing Skickee. Skickee?
And I'm not sure if that was reassuring or more terrifying. . .
And one morning I walked upstairs to hear him yelling something at Skickee. What's wrong? I asked (really almost afraid to hear his response).
Skickee is crabby.
[Of course he is.] So, I turned to the corner, pointed my finger at [Skickee, the corner, Captain Howdy?] and said, "All right, Skickee. That's enough. You just better quit being crabby and lighten up!"
Mama! You'll scare him. It's OK, little guy.
Really. Are you kidding me? And so now Skickee is a good guy? . . .yeah. . .
And in the following days, Skickee transformed into an imaginary friend that he named Kai-lan (from the Nick cartoon). . .a friend that he talked to all day long and that went with us everywhere (including to school, and she is sure to buckle her seatbelt before we leave, thank you very much. . .).
And so, as usual, our little Luke leaves me speechless. Perplexed. And I wonder if I will ever truly understand this parenting thing. . .
