we have been having many a tearful mornings going to asilo (although kai is all smiles when we return to pick him up) - leaving him in the mornings has been rather tough. today as we were heading out, i found a little striped rock in the driveway. kai is always bringing me treasures. in fact, i have a pile on my desk of rocks, leaves, little flowers and sticks - all teeny treasures that he finds for me when he's outside. he loves to give these as little gifts to whomever he is visiting. so when i found this rock, i had an idea. i got in the car and told him that this rock would (and i am quoting him) "suck up the sad" when we dropped him off. the rock would take the sadness away and fill his heart with the warmth of a kiss and hug from his mama, papa, and baby brother. whenever he felt the sadness coming back, all he had to do was reach into his pocket and squeeze his little rock.
perhaps this is a tactic i favor for all too familiar reasons. my grandfather would always keep a penny in his shoe for luck until it was worn smooth. my father practiced many a superstitious acts from avoiding ladders to throwing salt over his shoulder if it spilled. so i tend to experience the world in these ways - full of magic, mystery, and fixes that can be found in nature's treasures. my neighbor growing up, was a rock collector, and would give me these beautiful little polished stones to be used as 'worry stones'. i hoped this idea would give kai some comfort today. and although this morning still came with tears - this afternoon allowed me some time to embellish his rock a bit and give it much more magic to soothe a little heart that is trying so hard to become big and brave.
**to my little man, 'take a load off..and put the load right on me', i am always here**
