Sleep and Fear

Night terrors: according to Webster's Dictionary, night terrors are "a sudden awakening in dazed terror that occurs in children during slow-wave sleep, is often preceded by a sudden shrill cry uttered in sleep, and is not remembered when the child awakes —usually used in plural" For myself, these things are more like being confronted by a small child standing up in his or her crib screaming in abject terror at some unseen thing of horror. I am left standing in a darkened room, faced with two wide, sleepy, yet horrified eyes begging me to understand what thing has jolted them from a peaceful slumber and left them clinging to their crib's rails shrieking and crying in fear. I wish this child could speak and tell me what scared them so badly. I wish I didn't feel so damned helpless. I wish this wasn't occurring every single night between the hours of 2:30 and 4:00 a.m. I wish it didn't take over an hour to put them back to sleep. What can a one year old be so scared of that it awakens them each night so violently? Was it something I let them see on the television? Was it one of their siblings doing something to them? Was it the dog? A spider? Zombies? Rob Ford? I don't know, and this troubles me. I'm the parent. I'm supposed to be the protector, the one who can soothe them and help them. Yet I seem incapable here. I wish this weren't so, but that's what it is. Anyway, it's a short blog this week, mainly because I haven't had a full night's sleep in days. Here's hoping tonight is different.

In other news, check out the Events Page for news of my book launch!