{ dream catching }

this morning as i was making pj's lunch and he was sitting eating his cereal at the table i heard: "lauren?" you know that tone when your kids call your name and you know instantly that they're going to ask you for something?  i can hear it in pj's voice immediately.

me: "yeah?"  a moment of silence.

{source}

pj: "i was thinking of getting a dream catcher."

i'm so glad my back was turned to the kitchen so i could compose myself before responding.

me: "oh, yeah?  why's that?"

pj: "well, my friend virginia has one and she says she never has nightmares."

how sweet is that?  if you don't know pj, he is deathly afraid of rats.  aliens and ghosts will spook him, but he is absolutely terrified of rats.  he often comes into our room in the middle of the night after being woken up by a rat-related nightmare.

so, we may be in the market for a dream catcher.  who am i to prevent ancient magic from protecting his sleep? or mine?


***Traditionally, the Sioux construct dreamcatchers by tying sinew strands in a web around a small round or tear-shaped frame of willow (in a way roughly similar to their method for making snowshoe webbing). The resulting "dream-catcher", hung above the bed, is used as a charm to protect sleeping children from nightmares. As dreamcatchers are made of willow and sinew, they are not meant to last forever but are intended to dry out and collapse as the child enters the age of wonderment.  {source}