Learning not be afraid

We haven't broached the subject of surgery with Kai yet, but this weekend he showed a mature streak that will serve him well in the months to come--how to deal with fear. He seems to have safely navigated past my bout with the flu and Chris' cold/sinus infection. What a relief! If he gets sick, we might have to postpone the surgery which is now exactly 6 weeks away (yikes!). While we were sick (I was quarantined upstairs in the house, only coming down with a face mask), we told Kai that he would have to keep his distance from us. Over the weekend, he had to occasionally entertain himself in his room while Chris took a nap. One rule was to absolutely NOT wake us up at night (which he'd fallen back in the habit of doing, crawling into bed with me after a nightmare). So, one night there was an incredible storm with thunder so loud it felt like the sky was being ripped open repeatedly. I was sure Kai would wake up crying. As it turned out, he did wake up, but kept still. When Chris checked in on him, Kai told him that he was scared, but that holding on to his beloved Bama made him less scared. A breakthrough moment in terms of self-control and also, without him knowing it, good preparation for the time ahead, which is sure to be scary.