“Ever since that raccoon fell through my bathroom ceiling I have been a little hesitant to walk into that space. I don’t know if you have ever had a raccoon ‘drop in’ but it is an experience one doesn’t soon forget! She had been nesting in the attic and fell through the ceiling near my bath tub. I sang to her hoping to relax her since she was probably more traumatized than I was.
“It sort of reminded me of the boogey-man who used to live under my bed at night when I was a child. I was sure he would get me if an arm or leg escaped from under the sheet. Growing up in New Mexico it was warm at night, but no matter how hot it was, being under that sheet would protect me!
“I never actually saw the boogey-man but my older brother convinced me that the boogey- man did, in fact, live under my bed. That was my reality.
“For a child reality is an elusive thing. It can be one way now and tomorrow look entirely different. It is a wonderful thing for a child when each day is a brand new world! One of the most rewarding actions a parent can do with their child is to spend time with their child being interested in what is real to the child. Entering a child’s reality can be quite therapeutic for the parent also!
“Frequently the communication between the child and the adults around him has a considerable lack of reality. Parents want to be in communication with their child and the child is desperate to be in communication with their parents. They love each other dearly. The missing ingredient is reality. By spending time with the child, doing things the child is interested in and by the parent really getting interested in what the child has an interest in, a new shared reality will open the door for the child and parent to love and be in communication at a whole new level. And this will work for people of any age and in any relationship.
“I can tell you it really worked for me the day my mom and I were cleaning under my bed and she helped me to look for any traces of the boogey-man. We couldn’t find him anywhere. She said he probably moved out, maybe under my brother’s bed. Fine with me! I loved her so much for helping me to look for the boogey-man! We could talk about anything after that.
“Much more can be learned about how to improve relationships in the book A NEW SLANT ON LIFE by L. Ron Hubbard. He says it plain and simple. And it WORKS!
“Thanks for sharing my reality!”
Carol Kingsley