Tuesday, September 6, 2011

A Gift For My Children - And Maybe Others!

My two oldest boys, Cory and Gage, have reached the age where overactive imaginations sometimes effects their sleep. They started to have bad dreams. As I rush in to night time crying, between sobs I hear terrified whimpers of monsters, zombies, wild dogs and anything else that a 2 and 4 year old can conceive. 


One night, Gage was afraid to go to sleep. The night before, he was convinced a mean dog with big teeth had come into his room. He feared that if he went to sleep again, the dog would come back.  I explained that it was just a dream, but that didn't help. And that's when I said it. I don't know where it came from or WHY I said it, because I don't like lying to my kids. But I said,


"I'll send the Good Dream Faeries to watch over you when you sleep!"


So, from then on, every night the boys ask me to remember to send the dream faeries. (Cory calls them "Twinkle Faeries," which I think is sweet.) In the mornings, they sometimes rush out of their room and tell me of all the wonderful things they dreamed about (courtesy of the dream faeries!). Butterflies, baby puppies and kittens, rainbows, and even pocket-sized elephants!

I thought this was all too sweet to keep to ourselves. So I am writing a children's book. Finally, for the kids, I'll be able to capture the whole story of the dream faeries, their little world, their love of children, and their battle with the Nightmare Gnomes!

In the beginning, I felt guilty for making up something so random, and was hesitant to ever talk about it again. But I don't tell them the Easter Bunny or Tooth Fairy isn't real. I let them believe because it makes them a little happier. And I really like the idea of my little story helping other children sleep a little better at night. 

Yay Dream Faeries!