Let’s watch a movie… I’ve heard “Inside Out” is good…
So, we all happily, or so I thought, sat and watched the movie and then the boys were trundled off to bed. Minutes after Andy had gone to bed, from downstairs we heard him softly crying. Then the volume increased. I went upstairs to check on him. He responded with sobs of
“I have feelings!”
Through his tears, he tried to tell me that he’s not always happy. That he’s sometimes angry… and so on. Yep, you’re right kiddo, you do have feelings. It’s okay to talk about them. Anytime. Now that you know they’re there, you’ll be able to recognize them and they won’t be so scary. It’s okay to have feelings.
However, the tears continued to flow down his cheeks and, inconsolable, he still clung to me and his stuffies. Eventually, he was able to say that he didn’t want to forget about the people or favourite objects in his life. He was worried about me and the rest of his family not being there when he woke up and that he would forget his stuffies. Inside Out had revealed to him that he will forget things, that some memories will slip into the abyss, eventually to be forgotten.
Yikes! Pretty big topics for his five year old brain to process. I stayed with him and we whispered and snuggled our way through his feelings and worries of forgetting. Eventually he drifted off to sleep with his stuffies held close.
Renos & Kids & Pets, Oh My! 