Trouble Sleeping

Our youngest daughter is having trouble sleeping. She’s gone from going to bed without assistance to requiring a special night-light, music, and the door open. This has caused confusion and frustration. For some this may not seem like a big deal, but last night I felt like we were moving backwards. Regression is not a feeling I cherish. Our nighttime routine is now more complicated. As a parent there is a sense of “What happened?”; a sense of defeat.

Then I realized…nothing “happened”, she is simply a little soul longing for comfort in a time of fear. You see I lost the plot. I’ve been acting like my job as a parent is to get her to act a certain way, to control the situation. While behavior is obviously important (I’m not supporting anarchy), I don’t think it’s central, at least not in this case. As a father, my job is not to keep her from being upset, but to be there when she is! Her older brother and sister sleep fine so history tells me that she’ll move past this, but right now she needs me to let her know she’s not alone when she feels like she is.

Then I realize…I’m really not that different.