A good idea this time
Jake's suffered from recurring nightmares for most of his little life. We have tried everything we can think of and the only solution is making sure that he gets enough rest. The nightmares go in streaks. He gets a little tired, he has a nightmare, and then we're off on the nightmare roller coaster for a few weeks.
I was tucking him in last night when he asked, "Mom, what can I do so I don't have a nightmare tonight?"
"I don't know, Jacob. We've been dealing with this a long time. It's better when you try to relax and be happy before you go to sleep." I put on some music to help him. And wha-bam! Inspiration hit me right between the eyes.
Jacob knows the story of Jacob's ladder quite well. It's in a lullaby that I sing to him every night. So finally, I realized that the original Jacob would be a terrific help to us. "You know, the first Jacob was a dreamer too. Remember, he dreamed about Jesus. You could ask Jacob to pray for you. You could ask him to pray that you have happy dreams."
"Jacob's dead, Mom. He can't pray."
"Oh sure he's dead. But he's with God right? He can just look over and say 'Yo God! Help Jacob!' " And with that, Jacob dissolved in giggles. He asked me to ask Jacob to pray for him. Then he slept peacefully through the night.
Thanks a million, Jacob in heaven. I'm sorry I didn't ask for your help a long time ago. I'm sure that you've been waiting for me to figure it out.
3 comments:
I had nightmares all through childhood. God help me, I used to find them wildly entertaining. I appreciate that not everyone has this response to their nightmares, of course.
One thing that really helps is to discuss them. I do that with my children (who also have them on occasion), and I have found that they tend to have fewer nightmares afterwards, and when they do have them, they tell me that they 'know what to do.' One problem about talking about them is that you end up hearing the most long-winded tales of nightmares for years to come...
Me too. I remember one terrifying yet hysterical dream that involved collecting plastic Wertkauf bags. Don't ask because I have NO idea.
Jake absolutely refuses to talk about his dreams though. Every once in a while he'll mention something, but he just wants to get over it and move on. Ever onward - that's my boy.
Hm. I never talked about my dreams, either. I can't remember why but I'd never tell my mom, no matter what.
I still remember some of my dreams too - my first nightmare ever, especially.
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