____ When my son was three years old he was often squeamish about going to bed at night. Sounds outside his window would conjure up all kinds of scenes of terror in his little imagination.
One night he was awakened by the sound of crickets in the trees and grass outside. I came to him to comfort him and finally got him settled.

____ The following night, as I was putting him in bed, he said that he didn't hear the crickets. He said that they must have gone away and he hoped they wouldn't return. I was in the midst of explaining to him why the crickets were nothing to fear when it dawned on me. I actually find comfort in the cricket sounds. I decided to share this with him.

____ "When something scary, like a big sound or an animal comes around, the crickets get suddenly silent. It is their way of hiding from whatever it is that frightens them. So, the crickets' noise is really a good sound; a kind of signal that says 'all is well'."

____ I don't know if he really understood my message, but I never heard him cry out for me in fear that night. In fact, all I heard was the song of the crickets.

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