Like father…

September 29, 2011 Like father…

Over the past two days, Parker has been getting upset at random times and comes looking for us, crying. It seems that he’s scared based on something he heard this weekend from a friend: that there’s a man out there taking kids. Those of you who grew up in the NYC area may recall that there was a “white van” driven around by a man who gave kids candy and abducted them back in the 70’s. I’ve heard of no such phenomenon here in Happy Town, Tennessee.

But Parker apparently has and he feels unsafe because of it. He and Connor have both asked if our new house is strong like our house in South Carolina and “the house we were borrowing” were. I assure them both that it undoubtedly is. They have asked for night lights (Parker), for extra hugs, and to sit with us on the couch for just a few more minutes (Connor). The only one that seems ecstatic to be on his own is Ryan. He’s embraced his room with a zeal unlike anyone else in the house.

I can’t help but think that this can be attributed to having moved them twice in the span of a year and that they’re really just looking for some stability. But then I remember my own concerns around Parker’s age. Of course, I lived in a much more urban area, in an apartment building, and had considerably more potential to be exposed to crime than my boys. But my worries were the same: I had a recurring dream that a man came to the door, said he was a police man, and I opened it without asking my mom first. The only thing that saved me was the chain on the door (which is the weakest link in any home protection for any of you out there unfamiliar with the concept). Somehow, I managed to slam the door shut on his arm and reapply the deadbolts (yes, we had 3) before he got in.

Amateur psychology says my reason for feeling that insecure was that my parents were recently divorced and I had nobody to protect me in the apartment. I had nothing bigger than me to feel I was safe. My boys have had more consistency and are finally getting back so many of the things they had been without for almost a year – they should be feeling more at home. They have a stable house with parents watching over them.

So maybe it’s just Parker being the sensitive, aware kid he is. Or maybe he’s just being like his father.

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