Do you remember a night when..

Those nights where you had something important or special the next day. A meeting, wedding, presentation, speech, exam. You know you have to go to sleep because the next day will be full but the excitement or anxiety just won't let you get to sleep. Your mind goes through the event over and over. You check your clock every few minutes and calculate how much sleep you will be getting or not getting before the next days event arrives. You make sure the alarm is set and working properly, you even set the backup alarm just in case. At some point you forget everything you need to know for the event, you even have a hard time remembering your own name. We've all experienced these nights but do you remember the first one, the one that started you down the path to obsession. You may have and idea but I've got some good examples over the last few years that may trigger your memory.
Last night was such a night at our place. A few things were happening. The days leading up to this might have been an indication now that I look back but lets just go with what transpired last night.

Both kids could not get to sleep.
Angela has a tooth that is about to fall out, probably her 5th or 6th. Each one is a bit different but most involve some sort of anxiety. In this case the concern is that it may fall out during the night. You can imagine the scenarios that may go through your head. If you were anything like me as a kid, that tooth would be hanging on at a molecular level before it fell out on it's own due to a strong breeze.
Brian although concerned about his sister had his own anxiety. Today is his first Christmas concert. He's playing one of the wise men and has to remember the words to the song as well as some actions. As he was drifting off to sleep he hit that point I mention above and could not remember anything he had to do the next day. Calming him down took some effort. A few jokes about when I was a kid and some comforting words and sleep came quite quickly.

I'm not sure if this would have been my first anxious experience as well but I do see some things that happen at this early stage that probably shape each of us. For example I think the concert is Brian's concern but even bigger is keeping the song and his role a secret. Once he got that off his chest he seemed releaved and could move on. I too have a hard time with secrets and need to tell someone something. Usually that someone is who the surprise is for and that something is the actual surprise. In Angela's case although the tooth is the concern the things that might happen are what worry her more. The what if scenarios that race through our heads.

So am I worried about this? Not really, I think it's stuff that we all have to go through.
Is there something I should do to make it better for them? Probably, but what is that? I can't take away the feelings and I don't think I should. Trying to get them to understand and how to deal with it is probably a good place to start but they are small and my our grown up logic is not something that really works for the small ones.
Therefore I guess we just have to be there and encourage.


Update:
They did very well and afterwards wanted some sort of release. Brian asked for a donut and Angela wanted something sweet as well. When we got home they ate like they had never eaten before.