Nightmares

"Do you want me to tell you something really subversive? Love is everything it's cracked up to be. That's why people are so cynical about it. It really is worth fighting for, being brave for, risking everything for. And the trouble is, if you don't risk anything, you risk even more.” Erica Jong

As my son has gotten older and is trying newer and scarier things, I have been having nightmares. Nightmares that I bet are not uncommon amongst parents- nightmares of not being able to "save" my son from danger. Nightmares that horrible people are doing mean or cruel things to him. Or he runs out into the street and I am not able to catch him before he is hit by a car. Or a nightmare that has him fall out a window, just out of reach.

I know from experience that these dreams are not prophetic. I have enough gift dreams to know what they feel like as they are happening. No- these are anxiety dreams. My son is growing up and I am realizing that I won't be able to protect him from everything all the time. He will experience pain, heartache, and sorrow. And there is nothing I can do about that fact. And it is painful to me.

Other parents- how do you handle it?