A few months ago, Boop and I were watching a movie with a neighbor on their outdoor movie screen, and the story was getting a bit scary. It was too much for Boop, and she got upset. As we tried to approach her, she began to cry for us to get away, that she wanted the ghost to get away.
I was just watching the old Andy Griffith episode about Mr. McBeevee. That's the one where Opie tells a fantastic story about a man who walks around in the trees, has lots of hands, has a silver hat, jingles when he walks, and makes smoke come out of his ears. The adults think it's a fantastic tale, and ultimately, Andy gives Opie an ultimatum: either Opie admits that he made up Mr. McBeevee or Opie gets a spankin'. Opie tries to lie that Mr. McBeevee doesn't exist, but he couldn't. He looks up to Andy, and with tears in his eyes, explains that Mr. McBeevee really does exist and begs his Pa to believe him. Andy looks down at his little boy and says, 'I believe you.'
Aunt Bea and Barney are waiting downstairs. Barney asks if he got a spankin'. No. Barney asks if Opie admitted he lied. No. At this, Barney thinks Andy is the worst father in the world. Aunt Bea is relieved. And Andy says, 'I don't believe in Mr. McBeevee, but I do believe in my son.' As Andy takes a walk in the woods to try and figure out what to do about the situation, he finally meets Mr. McBeevee, a lineman.
Eventually, Boop caught her breath and started to calm down. I asked, "Did the ghosts look like they were glowing?" She nodded, "Yes." I explained, "Mommy has that feeling sometimes, too. Do you want to know what it was? It was us coming to help you. Honey, you weren't getting enough oxygen to your brain, and it made us look like we were glowing." We may not know what was happening in her body at that moment, but her experience was real. Clearly, I'm no Andy Taylor; he's the culmination of the parent we all wish that we had. We all have better choices: either come down from the trees or have a little faith in people. Sometimes, if we listen closely, we can do both.
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