Quirks Suck

I have an odd quirk. Well, calling it a "quirk" is the nice way to put it. Most people would just say "paranoia." Every night, before I go to bed, I have to touch the kids. Usually, I tuck them back in from whatever position they've rolled to and that's enough. I like to be able to touch their face or smooth their hair. Sounds fairly normal, right? What makes it a quirk is what happens if I don't make contact: I have horrible nightmares about something happening to them. My dreams are usually weird anyway. Remember the nightmare I had when da Boo was a baby? Yeah, these are like that. I will wake up, trying desperately not to scream. Then I have to go and check on them...just in case. Maybe I've seen too many movies.

This actually started when I was a kid and had a hamster named Dude (because I am awesome at picking names). Every night I would pet my hamster good night and go to sleep. If I didn't pet him, I would have dreams that he was loose (and he frequently was) and that something bad happened to him (we also had a large dog...). Once I calmed down from the nightmare, I would reach into his cage and make sure he was still there.

And in many ways, kids are like hamsters...you have to feed them daily and they kinda make the room stink. Still, I thought I'd grow out of this, maybe find more stability. And yet, here are the nightmares. Had one just the other night when the Boy had rolled so far over that me and my big pregnant belly couldn't reach him inside the crib. All I could do was barely make contact with the heel of his foot and then fling his blanket back over him. It wasn't enough and I dreamt that he turned into that kid from Pet Sematary. Didn't get much sleep that night...darn quirks.

What is your quirk?