"Franklin could slide down a riverbank all by himself. He could count by twos and tie his shoes. He could even sleep alone, as long as he had a good-night story, a good-night hug, a glass of water, a night-light, and his blue blanket."
an excerpt from Franklin's Blanket, by Paulette Bourgeois
an excerpt from Franklin's Blanket, by Paulette Bourgeois
My son, my only child, will be turning 5 next week. Five seems so big to me. He has grown so much in the last year, both physically and mentally, that I really feel like my little boy's days of being little are slipping away so fast.
He has a very special "blankie," one that ever since he was about 9 months of age has never gone anywhere without. Blankie helps calm him when he's upset and helps settle him down before bed at night. Last night, after I had tucked him in to bed, he said to me, "Mommy, when I start Kindergarten I'm going to say goodbye to blankie."
He looked so sad about this decision, but he also knew this was something he needed to do. I hugged him for a minute, hiding the tears in my eyes, and told him that when he's ready we'll wrap blankie up in a special box and put him away in a special place.
Deciding to let something like this go may be a natural part of growing up, but it's still a big deal in his little life. I'm sure neither of us will look forward to the day we say goodbye to blankie. For my son, a special part of his childhood will have come to an end. For me, it will mean my little boy isn't so little anymore. I will probably shed a quiet tear as we put blankie away, but then scoop my son up and talk about all the things we have to look forward to as he grows up.
He has a very special "blankie," one that ever since he was about 9 months of age has never gone anywhere without. Blankie helps calm him when he's upset and helps settle him down before bed at night. Last night, after I had tucked him in to bed, he said to me, "Mommy, when I start Kindergarten I'm going to say goodbye to blankie."
He looked so sad about this decision, but he also knew this was something he needed to do. I hugged him for a minute, hiding the tears in my eyes, and told him that when he's ready we'll wrap blankie up in a special box and put him away in a special place.
Deciding to let something like this go may be a natural part of growing up, but it's still a big deal in his little life. I'm sure neither of us will look forward to the day we say goodbye to blankie. For my son, a special part of his childhood will have come to an end. For me, it will mean my little boy isn't so little anymore. I will probably shed a quiet tear as we put blankie away, but then scoop my son up and talk about all the things we have to look forward to as he grows up.
2 comments:
Both of my girls have a blanket. Natalya has weened herself off of it officially as of this summer. She still sleeps with it at night. Vienne, still no end in sight. But, you're right, it has comforted them in so many ways.
My girlfriend's little boy had a blanket that he was SO attached to,much like Jaden. When the time came that he told his mommy he was ready to let go of his "blanky" my girlfriend knew it was a hard choice for him to part from his beloved blanky, so she decided to surprise him by making a pillow with the blanket, that way even though he wouldn't be carrying it with him all the time, he could still have it sitting on his bed, and when he needed the extra comfort blanky would still be there (just in different form! So, now 3 years later he's 8 yrs old, and good ol' blanky is cleverly disguised as a throw pillow on his bed. I thought it was a cute and clever idea!
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