Sparrow, our youngest child, told me the other night that she was afraid of the “pretend monsters”.

Knowing they’re the “pretend” monsters doesn’t help to not be afraid of them.

They’re real to her….even if she knows that they’re only pretend monsters.

I wonder how big my list of pretend monsters is?

All the financial stuff….decimal points and digits out in the cloud….filthy lucre….

Maybe social status or the things I might do on occasion to “keep up appearances”….

Aging…

Relationships….

I wonder how any of them are more real than the pretend monsters that bother Sparrow sometimes in the night…..when the light is going away and the shadows rule?

I need to learn to not be afraid of the pretend monsters, too.