So here it is, 10:30 at night, and I’m sitting on the floor of my 10-year-old son’s bedroom. I do this every night when he goes to bed. It’s become our little routine. He comes into my room, tells me that he’s worried about something. He says that he needs me to sit with him “just one more night,” and I happily oblige. I sit on the bed with him, and we talk for a few minutes about his day. I pray over him, kiss him on the cheek, and tell him I love him. Then I sit down on the floor next to his bed (usually with my iPad) and wait for him to go to sleep.
But tonight is different. This time, his good friend Joseph is spending the night with him. They have spent the past three hours editing a video they’ve been making, laughing and whooping it up the whole time. They were having such a good time that I assumed all would be well. But when bed time came, my boy came into my room again, as usual, and started talking to me.
“Dad, I don’t feel very comfortable,” he said, wringing his hands and giving me a sidelong look.
“What’s wrong, Squirt?”
“This is my first sleepover, and I’m not used to having someone other than my family in our house. Joseph is my best friend and all, but it feels so weird. I don’t know what to do.” His voice was quivering.
I held him for a while, and we talked. I told him that it’s no different than if Joseph were to go home after spending time visiting. My boy would just go to bed as usual, only Joseph would be in a sleeping bag on the floor next to him. Nothing strange or wrong or bad would happen. They’d just go to sleep, and in the morning he’d wake up to find his best friend there, ready for some more fun.
But no amount of logic would help him. He needed me to be with him. He needed me to assure him that everything would be all right. He needed the comfort of the routine—especially in this situation, when someone who isn’t normally here is, well, here.
So here I am, sitting in my boy’s bedroom while he and his friend try to go to sleep. Joseph seems to be nodding off just fine, but every time I look up at my boy, I see that he is squinting his eyes, staring at the ceiling, or looking at me forlornly. Normally, he’s asleep in five minutes. But not tonight. He just can’t settle down. He keeps tossing and turning. Things aren’t the way they’re supposed to be, and that’s upsetting.
This may be a long night.
autismblues 