Last night we had a severe thunderstorm with lightning in our neighborhood. It was sudden, loud, and scary. The lightning lit up the windows and the thunder felt oppressively on top of us.
Scott was at school so it was just me and the kids. I don't remember ever being scared of a storm before, but I was scared of this one. Watching the lighting through our front window was probably not the best choice of keeping myself calm, but I couldn't look away. I tried my hardest not to let Kevin know I was terrified, because she has recently developed a fear of thunder. Sly was unphased and happily went about playing with the air vents.
After a particularly scary and beautiful blast of lighting, I started to say a simple prayer out loud. When I finished, I felt a tug on my shirt.
"Mom, why you say a prayer?" asked Kevin.
I knelt down to her level and told her it was because I was a little bit scared.
She smiled, put her arms around me, and in a matter of fact way said, "When you was a girl, Grandma sing you songs to help you feel better."
Although I am sure I have told her that I like to sing songs to keep from being scared, I don't remember telling her that it was Grandma (whom she is just starting to realize is my Mommy) who first sang them to me.
"Would you like to sing a song to help you feel better?" I asked, putting my arms around her. She nodded, and we started singing I am a Child of God (the only song she wants these days). After every line, thunder roared or lightning terrorized the grayish purple sky.
She was right. The song did help me feel better. Enough to take both kids downstairs (where we couldn't see the storm, only hear it) and let them play until the storm blew over or Daddy came home, whichever happened first.
I sat there, watching the Disney channel for probably the fourth hour that day (don't judge, school days are LONG), and smiled as I thought about the Primary songs my mom would sing to me when I was a scared little girl, and how, in my teenage years, after watching many a horror movie with my crush (totally not worth it, btw), I would go to bed with both the lights on and primary songs playing softly on my stereo.
I simply remember my favorite things, and then I don't feel so bad.
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