I remember in a psychology class in college reading about how toddlers will venture out and explore, never getting to far from their mothers. Every so often, they just have to go back to their moms for some reassurance, and after they touch base with mom, they'll go back out and explore again.
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Daughter was doing that all day today. I left the room before she was dressed to attend morning prayer. She joined me there, and then we went to breakfast together. After breakfast we went up to worship, where she sat in front of me. She went off to her class and I went to mine. After about 75 minutes, I got a text that she wanted to join me, it wasn't working helping with the kids. My response was, "Make it work. I know you can."
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A few minutes later, she appeared at my classroom door. The class was full, and I was not encouraging. One of the men was getting her a chair and she turned around and vanished. We ate lunch together, and then she came back to the room and napped. I was sitting outside with some friends chatting. Several times she'd appear and come behind me to hug me and put her head on my shoulder. She made several attempts to pull me away from the conversations, and when that didn't work, she'd disappear to go do something else.
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The pattern continued into the evening. She'd come to check in, seeking a hug and reassurance, and then go off to join others. I was reminded of those toddlers in that ancient psychology book. In many ways, she still functions at the age she was at the time of the trauma: two years old.
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She went to bed early tonight, exhausted from the activities of the day. It has been a good day, and I'm headed to bed soon, too.
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