Monsters under the bed

It’s 3:30am and I am awakened by the soft patter of feet. I am a notoriously light sleeper since becoming a mom. I half open one eye and see a small silhouette in our bedroom door. I lift my head.

DARLING DAUGHTER: I had a bad dream.

I motion her to come in and she quickly runs and jumps onto our bed carrying her favorite blankie and teddy bear. She snuggles between us under the covers and I give her a hug and tell her, “It was just a dream. We’re all right here.” Within a few minutes she’s asleep again, safely tucked between mommy and daddy.

As parents, we chase monsters out from under the bed, shoo ghosts from the closet and hug and kiss away nightmares. We soothe childhood fears. We are the protectors. But not all monsters are imaginary.

On 9/11, I was pregnant with darling daughter although I didn’t know it at the time. Watching the news was like watching a horror movie except the movie didn’t end, the monsters were real and the unimaginable was really happening.

A lot has changed in six years. I now have two children. Some day I will sit down with them and tell them the story of 9/11. I will tell them where I was and what I was doing that day. I will try to explain what I was thinking and feeling and what it was like those first few weeks adjusting to the “new normal.”

I always tell my daughter, “There are no monsters in our house.” Some day I’ll tell her about the monsters outside.

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
Angels watch me through the night,
And wake me with the morning light.

Picture: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Mohamed_Atta.jpg