Bubble of raw emotion

Today you stood on a thistle. You yelped, crawled over to me and clung on to me for dare life. Your little hands grasped onto my cheeks trying to get closer and closer to me. It wasn’t possible but you continued to try. Your face touched mine and I could feel the tears running down between our cheeks. They fell from your long wet lashes which were kissing my nose. I told you it was ok and there we sat for a long while, waiting for the stress to leave your little body.

Slowly your breathing slowed and the shrieks turned into sobs. I rubbed your back and your tight little grasps loosened. You felt comfortable and safe in my arms. My presence assured you that things would be ok and as the pain started to subside you looked back up at me just to be sure I was still there. Your big brown eyes were filled with pools of tears, and your cheeks red. I told you it was ok one more time and you snuggled back into my chest where you remained for another few minutes.

Before long, all I could hear was your nose sniffling and the birds chirping above the tree hut where we sat. It was a beautiful moment, it was. Eventually you released yourself from me and went back to playing with the clover in the grass beneath us. You were smiling and offering me clover heads. It was as though you had forgotten the moment that had just been. Perhaps you had. Perhaps you hadn’t but you were ok because I was there.

Some days the cries can be hard. Some days they can be overwhelming. Some days they can feel all a bit much. However, we must not forget that it is these cries that also give us these moments. The moments of feeling like nothing else matters, that it is just the two of you caught in a bubble of raw emotion that no one else can pop, only the two of you when you are ready.

The cries will not always be like this. As your child grows, their ability to regulate their emotion will change. Even if you make it unequivocally clear that your shoulder is always there to cry on, they may not always want you the way they do now. One thing is for certain though. Comforting your child by cradling them in your arms will not always be possible. Enjoy it while you can.