Effie Caldarola
By Effie Caldarola
• Catholic News Service • Posted April 30, 2021
When I was a little girl, my dad would tell me, “Don’t take your troubles to bed with you.” I was an inveterate worrier. I wanted the hallway light left on near my bedroom in our old farmhouse.
Monsters seemed to lurk, not just under the bed but in every nook and cranny. My imagination was, and remains, lively. My brain sometimes won’t shut down for the night.
When I was very young, I slept in a big bed with my little brother Tommy after he yielded his crib to the newest sibling. I mostly took comfort from his presence, but sometimes I would lie, sleepless and worried, staring at his toddler profile as he slumbered beside me.