In the Woods

"Pick it up!"

"Ew, no you pick it up!"

"I said it first"

"No way. It's slimy."

"How do you know if you won't even try?

"Because look at all the leaves stuck to it. It's gross."

"You're gross."

"Stop throwing things at it. Leave it alone."

"Why? It's just a stupid slug. Oooooh, I'm gonna run home and get some salt to pour on it."

"No! That's so mean, besides, you really wanna go home right now?"

"No, I guess not. Not yet at least. You think they're done?"

"Probably not. It seemed pretty bad this time."

"I hope they're done before dinner. I'm hungry."

"You're always hungry."

"I'm a growing boy! That's what mom says anyway."

"Yeah, yeah. I know, and we're not supposed to shame you for eating a lot. Sorry.

"It's okay...Do you think they're gonna get divorced?"

"I don't know...might be better if they did. We'll get 2 Christmases!"

"Shut up. It's not funny. What if Dad moves far away? Or they both move and we have to switch schools? I don't want to live out of a backpack like Jimmy does. His parents are divorced, and he said it sucks. And now, his mom has a new boyfriend who's all 'Lets be buddies' and it's super annoying. Like, are mom and dad gonna get remarried? What if THEY have kids and we get a stupid, annoying step-brother, or I have to share my room or something."

"Whoa, kiddo. You're getting way ahead of yourself. Let's talk about something else. It'll be okay."

"For YOU it will be. You're old enough to pick who you want to live with. I'll have to go back and forth between them."

"Why would you say that? How do you know all this?"

"Jimmy's older sister just stays with their dad. She says it's closer to school and stuff, but now Jimmy only sees her 1 day a week and every other weekend. It's not fair. Are they gonna split us up?"

"Oh man, you're really worked up, huh? Come here. Take a deep breath. Don't worry. I won't let them split us up. Wherever you go, I go."

"Promise?"

"Promise. And, we don't even know if they're splitting up. You're waaaaaaaay ahead of yourself. Try to stop future tripping".

"What's future tripping?"

"It's when you get caught up on all the what-ifs and worry too much. You want to do one of your grounding techniques?"

"Okay."

"Great. Let's do 5-4-3-2-1. Name 5 things you can see."

"A tree, the slug, leaves, a stump, a squirrel."

"And, 4 things you can feel."

"My shirt, my hat, the ground, the sun on my arms."

"Good and 3 things you can hear."

"Wind, you breathing, birds."

"2 things you can smell."

"The woods. Your perfume."

"And one thing you can taste"

"My gum."

"Good job. Feeling any better?

"A little. Thank you."

"Look buddy, I know it's scary not knowing what's going to happen, but we'll stick together, and we'll figure it out together. I'm not going anywhere."

"Okay."

"Okay. You hear that? They're calling us. Guess they're done."

"I don't want to go back yet."

"I thought you were hungry?"

"well, yeah...but I'm always hungry. Can we just stay out here a little bit longer?"

"Sure we can, kiddo."