|
I read somewhere
that children between the ages of 11 and 14 can develop
a type of separation anxiety. A worry from being apart
from members of their family. I think that the
"University of They" just made that up, so that parents
don't think they are crazy. I'm the one with separation
anxiety. My boy Wyatt is 12 years old. I have been away
from him for a week when he was about 8 years old when I
had to go travel to California for work. Tim has had to
be away from him for about a week when he had a special
assignment for work. But the longest that he has ever
been apart from me or Tim at the same time has been for
an overnight stay.
Now, don't get me wrong, we let Wyatt run and play and
do all kinds of boy activities. He loves riding his
skateboard and doing crazy flips on the trampoline. He
runs at night with the neighborhood kids playing spy
games and army. With all of that being said, I still
take such comfort in knowing that Tim and I are always
under the same roof with him.
Recently, Tim and I had the opportunity to attend Bike
Week down in South Carolina. I could not bear being 5 or
6 hours away from Wyatt, so we worked out a plan for him
to stay with Tim's sister and her husband in Wilmington.
We also took Chi Chi our little fat Chihuahua along for
extra companionship for Wyatt. So Thursday evening, Pam
and Kevin met us down in Surfside where we were staying
to take Wyatt and Chi Chi back to their home. We went
out as a group and ate supper together and then came
goodbye time.
I tried to hide my feelings as not to upset Wyatt or
make a total fool of myself. We hugged more than once
and said a little prayer together. But, as I stood there
and watched his little hand wave goodbye to me, I
thought to myself that this was worse than any labor
pain that brought him into the world.
As he rode off and the tail lights disappeared...my
heart ached, I could barely swallow, I was hot and cold
and numb at the same time. I just wanted to hug him one
more time.
As we rode along, all I could think about was is he
safe, is he sad, is he talking and laughing or just
riding along hanging his head. I asked God to make the
sadness go away and let me enjoy the cool night breeze
in my face. I looked forward to talking with him in the
next hour and a half and knowing that they had arrived
safely. We called and spoke with him later that night.
He was happy, talking about his Aunt and Uncles new
dogs, Bella and Maxwell. He was excited to see Ellie,
Rigby and Homer (cats) again. Hearing his happy voice
made me feel better.
On Sunday, we met in a Food Lion parking lot with many
hugs and smiles. I had prayed for God to keep us all
safe and healthy until we were together again and he
did. So, Hello...my name is Sandy and I have Separation
Anxiety...and God still loves me. :) ~Sandy
Turn all your anxiety over to God because
he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7 |
