Ukraine Adoption

In the darkness

I was sitting in the kitchen reading the paper Sunday morning when Tara walked by briskly, twice. What are you doing? I asked.
"There was a spider so I got tissue and squished him and flushed him down the toilet," she said.

OK. I still squirm when I do that.

I put a night light in Tara's room a few weeks ago because she was having bad dreams. But last night she told me it was too bright in her room. So I took the light out. She wanted the door closed, too. So there's a 4-year-old sleeping in the darkness with the door closed. It doesn't get much braver than that. This morning she told me she had a dream but it was a good one. It was about two bears but they were very nice.

Sometimes she wanders through the house, searching for me. She'll go down into the basement--alone--even at night. I still struggle with that.

What scares this child? Not much. But maybe:

Fear of abandonment. She doesn't think I'll leave her for good, but she doesn't like to miss out on any trip to anywhere in the car.

Fear of missing out: If you are working on any kind of project, she's all over it like a curious cat.

Fear of not getting her share: There better be enough to go around, when Tara is in the mix.

Fear of no more popsicles in the freezer: Oh my, don't even go there.