Courage - doing something even when you are scared.

I made this Cullen in hopes that it bolsters him in the middle of the night. Last night he woke at about 3am. He was crying outside our bedroom door and woke me. He was hesitant to come in because he knew he would lose a privilege the next day if he did not stay in his won bed. I woke Edward and asked him to go help Cullen. I had put the two older children to bed last night and stayed in the family room while Cullen fell asleep. So it was his turn.

I continued to hear Cullen cry and Edward's voice got a bit louder. I was laying in bed thinking, "thank goodness its not just me who can't handle it". Avery was woken by the commotion and Edward moved her to the guest room. Eventually Edward came back to bed and we hoped it would stick. Within minutes Edward was up again for the night. He has a hard time going back to sleep. But Cullen did go back to sleep on his own.

In the morning we praised Cullen for "doing" it! I told him he had courage. I asked him if he knew what that meant. And he shook his head. I said, "courage means doing something even though you are scared." He smiled and looked at his Dad. I will never forget that smile. He was proud.

Cullen is now cutting out his award so that he can tape it to his bed tonight. I hope it reminds him that he IS brave!