Mother-Daughter Bonding...

3:00 O'Clock - A.M. - I awoke to a 'thud' and a tugging of the covers. I sat up to face the end of the bed, and found a tiny person standing there looking at me. I asked, "What's wrong Myla?" To which Myla replied, "I don't like to go night-night anymore." I pondered this for a moment... "Any more? When have you EVER?" I picked her up and sat down with her in my lap. "Myla, it's very early - it's the middle of the night. You need to get some more sleep and so do mommy & daddy..." She retorted, "But there might be a dragon in my closet." Groan... not again. Dang dragons! She continued, "When I was a little kid, (since you know, age 1-1/2 was so long ago) I was scared of dragons in my room..."  I took advantage of that open window and expressed to her how proud I was of her that she was a big kid now, and didn't have to be scared of dragons anymore because she knew they were (no longer) in her room. Ha. Bet you think I got somewhere with that, huh? Well, in some senses I did - because now that dragons were determined to be so age-2,  we moved on to other scary creatures... These creatures included bears, wolves, loons (No, not lions... loons), sharks, and now - even moose. Hm. That's a new one. 
SO. We chatted quietly about all of the reasons why she didn't have to be afraid of those things at this time, while in this location, a mere 20 minute drive from downtown Minneapolis. That didn't seem to make all that much sense to her. But she was reveling in my compassion - though fogged by my desire for more sleep. 
We continued to discuss all the reasons why such animals weren't within range, and how we'd always protect her regardless, for about another 15-20 minutes. We practiced a hushed, whispered version of a fierce lion's roar... She felt sure that this would be sufficient in an 'attack'. At this point, an inevitability that I had been dreading, finally unfolded. The teething, almost-two-year-old lying in her crib approximately 6 or so feet from Myla's bed, awoke - and launched herself into an immediate standing position. "Hold you..." came her plea. Argh. I might as well take a shower and get dressed. 
Myla was understanding and content lying under her covers (that were to also protect her as she hid from all of the lurking evils surrounding our home) while I tended now to miss Adelyn. I picked her up, and covered her, while swaying side to side... Her eyes rolled back into her head, and so I figured I could keep to the pajamas, as this was a promising sign. 
I lay Addie back down in her crib, and she willingly accepted that it was by far too early for play. Whew! That wasn't so bad. Back to miss Myla now... Okay - I'm ready for bed. We need good sleep so we can be strong enough to protect each other from the bears if they should decide they like the city-surroundings that encompass our humble patch of the north-woods within city limits. 
Somehow, I don't think Myla took a single breath after that - as she proceeded to reassure me that when I get little, she would 'hold me' if I get scared of bears. "You just call me in your room when you get scared of bears, and I will carry you, okay? I will even give you a bath when I get bigger and you get little!" OKAY. I agreed. NOW, can we get some sleep? "Sure mama. I'm sorry I woke you up." Ooooooh. How sweet! I assured her that I understood that she was scared and needed to talk to me about it, and that it was certainly okay. I do enjoy an opportunity for some mother-daughter bonding... but preferably when I'm a bit more lucid!

AH yes. WARM BLANKEY. BED. ZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...........  

A TIP! Sometimes you can actually reason with a 3-year-old. I've found that on many occasions when trying to explain a reason behind things to her, she much more readily embraced the answers provided. When I didn't offer valid reasons, she was more likely to fight it... Interesting. But true. Worth a try! They pick up on more than we give them credit for. 

A QUOTE: "A child seldom needs a good talking to as a good listening to."  ~Robert Brault

WHIDFML: Laughed with friends!