Magical Mommy Mondays: Monsters...

There is a monster under the bed.  Maybe it's in the closet.  Maybe it's behind the door.  Wherever it's lurking, it's in there, and it's going to come out and Eat Your Child!

Sometime around 4 am when Reagan was about four years old, I was ready to find that monster and strangle it with my bare hands.  

But Mommies are magical.  We can banish monsters, and empower our children to be bigger and stronger than they are.  I have three solutions for the monster problem. And each of my children so far, has had a monster problem.

1. Monsters are made of chocolate.  While they come at night to frighten you, they aren't allowed to get very close, because if you get close enough to one, you can bite it, and they are made of they yummiest chocolate Ever.  If my children are willing to believe that monsters are essentially giant chocolate bunnies in disguise, suddenly they are not scary at all.  My kids have really liked this.  

2. Anti Monster Spray.  We put water into a spray bottle and maybe a protective herb like Chamomile and we say a prayer that this spray would banish any harmful thing that might enter their room.  Honestly, my kids have taken the spray bottle to bed, but somehow have never actually needed to use it.  I figured worst case scenario is a wet spot on the floor.  I can live with that.  Especially if I haven't been up all night trying to banish the monsters myself.  

3. Anti-Monster Smudging.  There's something about smoke and seeing Mommy do something that makes kids feel safer.  So, if I can take a Sage smudge stick around their room saying a little prayer of protection over their space, that's a powerful tool for helping them calm their minds.

Mommy Magic is broad and capable of so much.  Maybe there isn't a "monster" in their room.  But all of my kids have found a period of time where they became aware that things were mysterious in the dark.  And anything that I can do to help them find power in those times where they're aware of their own vulnerability, well, that's big.  That sense that they have some control over their world is going to be valuable long after they stop worrying about the monsters under their beds.