Ghosts

I'm kind of a scaredy cat. I know I'm a wife and mother of two, but my subconscious is still a little afraid of the dark and things that go bump in the night. Mostly I just worry about those hand full of awful people out there that could hurt my kids. But I'll admit my imagination is scared of ghosts, aliens, and monsters. My grown up logic side knows there's no such thing, but the part of me that's still a kid pulls the covers around me a little tighter when I hear funny things at night.
Alex's imagination has been growing in leaps and bounds lately. It's so funny to watch him play with his toys and hear the conversations he creates for them to have. The downside of all this creativity is that he now creates things in his head to explain the bumps in the night. Right now there's a ghost that resides outside his window. Two nights ago he came screaming out of his room because of this ghost at one in the morning. He was hysterical for a half hour and wouldn't let me put him down. I tried to explain that ghosts don't exist and so there was nothing for him to be scared of. But then if I can't convince the kid side of me how am I going to convince him. So after a while I started to think of other strategies. Then it came to me... Harry Potter! For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of reading these books yet, there is a creature in them called a Bogart. No one knows what it looks like since it takes the shape of the thing you fear most. The spell to get rid of these awful creatures is Riddikulus! You say it and think of a way to make what you fear, something funny. Now I know that it's a fiction book and the spell wouldn't actually work, but the principle is sound. So at two in the morning Alex and I started to make his scary ghost funny. We gave him a pink hat and a purple jacket and he was eating rocks outside. And I used my mommy authority and explained that I had locked the door and the ghost couldn't get in. And the ghost wasn't allowed to get in cause if it did, it would get in BIG trouble. Alex fell asleep shortly afterwards. And for the last two nights he makes sure we lock the door and he confirms the ghost isn't allowed in the house. I hope it lasts for a while. I'm sure we aren't finished with the pesky pretend ghost that lives outside, but I'll take the full nights sleep while I can.