The boy has been a pretty good sleeper since he was about six weeks old. But all things must come to an end. The past couple of weeks has been this: no matter how tired he is, he cries before falling asleep. I could carry a dead-to-the-world Jack up to his room and lay him down as gentle as a feather landing on a pillow.
Doesn’t matter. He’ll sit up and start crying. Sometimes it’s thirty seconds. Sometimes it’s half an hour. Which has led us to believe it has nothing to do with whether he is tired or not.
Inspired by the seven stages of grief, made popular thanks to Psychology 101 courses at colleges across the country, here are my seven stages of separation anxiety for the coping parent:
- Awe. He’s crying. Because he wants to hang out with me.
- Disbelief. He’s crying because he wants to hang out with me?!
- Worry. He’s crying like a high school sophomore going through his first break-up. Should I get him? Should I leave him be? Should I go into his room and tell him everything is fine?
- Irritation. What’s he crying about? He’s going to see me in the morning. He sees me every morning. What’s wrong with this kid? Am I raising a wimp?
- Guilt. Why did I think that? I can be such an asshole.
- Acceptance and Pride. Another stage of development. My little boy is growing up!
- Comprehension and Terror. Another stage of development. My little boy is growing up.
Alan Kercinik is a marketing type/dad who, right now, is probably hanging out with his wife, walking the dog, reading, listening to music, ranting about some movie or television show, toiling away on a novel or telling his son not to climb on something. The opinions expressed on Always Jacked are his, but they are probably influenced by his wife.
