Just then
I hear my oldest cry out through the silence of the dark. It’s a nightmare cry.
I pinch my eyes as I attempt to push back the contempt rising up within. Couldn’t we just get a couple of hours of
sleep? Another cry comes out....this time from the baby as he has now also
been woken. I quickly grab him up and head to my eldest’s room silently praying
that this is over quickly....
Then the
guilt comes. They need me. They need guidance and love as they learn the
harshness of this world that I’m already all too aware of. Their pleas are
signs of their desire to have me comfort them.

