Change is never easy for anybody...and if you're reading this and you're thinking "Change is good. I like change..." Imma punch you in the snotlocker... You must lead a beautiful life in which you've never lost anyone you have loved, you've never had opportunities or dreams ripped away from you or you've never tucked your youngest into her crib on the last night before moving her to a toddler bed.
Yah, yah, I get it. She is three. It's time. Probably past time, actually, but since she had a rocky start to her life, I wanted to savor the "crib days" a little while longer... I mean, I would keep her in until she was ten but then people would talk or she might even try to climb out by that time. Or not.
Today, her father decided was THE day she would transition to a toddler bed, which, in his defense, I had mentioned the suggestion, like, yesterday. Usually, though, and I say this lovingly as I know my beloved will be reading this, it takes a
With naptime looming, Jim made the finishing touches on Maddy's "Big Girl Bed," which she delighted in knowing she could get in and out of on a whim. As she laid down, lights out, she called out: "I'm scared"... her Brudder, her Daddy and I went in her room to reassure her that "Everything is going to be okay," "You're doing great," and the "Don't be scared, Mads, goodnight" coming from her brother, which sealed the naptime deal.
...
Early this evening, while standing on the porch waving goodbye to Papa (a relatively new custom - or more so a side effect of the changes of the past year really), Jimmy and Maddy caught glimpse of a rabbit, fixed like a statue in our front yard, whose eyes implied he was clearly startled. "Look at that bunny, Mom!" Jimmy whispered, so as not to alarm the cute little guy. "I see him too," I whispered back, helping Maddy adjust her focus to lay eyes on him. "Mama," she said, slowly raising her hand in his direction, eyes transfixed now, "he is scared. Awwww. It's okay. Be brave, bunny. Be brave." Jimmy, never to be outdone, added: "Stay brave, bunny..." (complete with a thumbs up in his direction). With that, my dynamic duo turned slowly and head back into the house, for a moment leaving me speechless and heartbroken on the front porch, staring at a bunny, now the metaphor of my life.
How can a 3 and 4 year old have more confidence in the world than I do? How can they recognize that change can make you stand still, afraid, unsure of the unknown? I couldn't help but think of all of the changes. Of Maddy and her "Big Girl Bed". Of a scared-stiff bunny in my yard. Of what's yet to be. Be brave, bunny. Be brave.
It's true, and I've written about them before, those inevitable "peaks and valleys" of life hit at the most unassuming times. Never do you expect the unexpected, although told time and time again to do just that. It's the unexpected, I've decided, that the best and brightest moments yet to come are derived. So when feeling overwhelmed with things out of my control I will always remember: "Everything is going to be okay," "You're doing great," "Don't be scared," and "Be brave, bunny. Be brave."
...
While tucking her in, Mads sang me some of the lyrics to her favorite song:
If you trust your rebel heart, ride it into battle
Don't be afraid, take the road less traveled
Wear out your boots and kick up the gravel
Don't be afraid, take the road less traveled on.
We finished the chorus together and she smiled, "I won't be scared, Mommy"... "No need to be, Love," I told her. She said her prayers and I said mine: "Be brave, bunny. Be brave"...
