So while getting my daughter ready for bed, she started to talk about The Monster. She's only 2 and 1/2 years old, so I was a bit surprised that she already knows about them. So I took it very seriously, because I know all about monsters (I used to be plagued by horrific nightmares.) Instead of blowing it off, I decided to talk to her about it. "So sweety where is the monster?" I asked. "In my bed!" she replied while pointing. I look over, "Really. So is he a nice monster? Like Elmo?" She shook her head, "no!" So I'm starting to get a bit concerned. "He's not? Well what does he want?" I ask. "He wants to get in my closet." Uh oh. Now I'm really concerned. "What does he want to do in your closet?" I tentatively ask. "He wants to try on all my clothes!" she says rather angrily. Her reply surprises me, and I have to bite my lip so I don't start giggling. Monsters are serious stuff, but the thought of a cross-dressing monster is rather humorous. We kept talking about the monster, and I told her if the monster was not going to be a nice, well, we would have to talk to his Mommy and he would need to go home. She nodded, and proceeded to scold the monster on her own.

All of this brought back a memory for me. I remember lying in my bed, totally freaking out over a scratching noise in the dark. It would come and go, and I kept trying to peer in the shadows to see what it was. Eventually I called my Dad. My father was in the Marines for 30 years, so at that point in my childhood, admitting fear to him was something I did not do lightly. He came and asked what was wrong. And in a very frightened voice I told him about the noises. "Really? I don't hear anything" he said in a soothing tone. I then explained how it came and went. "Ok" he said, then sat in the bed next to me to wait. After a few minutes, the scratching noise returned. "There! there!" I exclaimed. He got up and started to track the noise, and got down on his hand and knees by my dresser. "Ah. Ok I see now" he calmly explained. Turns out it was a piece of paper caught behind my dresser that would rustle and move when the heat went off. "There you go. All better know?" he asked. I nodded and smiled.

So you see, monsters are a serious business. And to a child (and even adults) they are very real and very frightening. Even if they are cross-dressers.

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Published: (2005-04-13 15:52:29.0)