Will got pretty stressed out on Monday. During lunch, he heard on the news that Hillary Clinton was in our town campaigning for Barack Obama.
For those of you who don't know, Will is afraid of Hillary. I'm not sure why (but some of the unflattering things I've said about her and her husband in the past probably haven't helped). Will is very sensitive to loud, shrill noises and, well, Hillary does talk in a loud, shrill voice. Plus she doesn't smile much and when she does.... Well, you've seen it. I don't need to elaborate. Whatever his reasons, he voiced his dislike for her during the primaries and asked me not to vote for her because he was afraid she would steal his blankie.
I told him back then, "You don't need to worry. Hillary won't come to our town." Well that turned out to be a lie. There she was, getting ready to speak not 5 miles from our house. Will was NOT going to trust me that Hillary wasn't going to show up on our doorstep. I was wrong about the coming to town thing, obviously I don't know anything, and he must make preparations himself.
He searched his room for a good hiding spot for the blankie and finally settled on a spot under his bed. He also checked to make sure the front door was locked (both dead bolt and knob) and quizzed me about all the "what if's" -- what if Hillary found a key to house, what if she figured out the code for our garage door opener, etc.
He went to preschool that afternoon and was relieved to find his blankie still under the bed when he returned. He asked "Is she gone? Did she get in her car and drive away? Did she fly to another city on an airplane?" I suppressed the urge to say "Broom, not airplane" and just said "Yes". He relaxed and laid on his bed with the blankie for a while.
Other kids are scared of the Boogie Man, mine has HillaryClintonaphobia. Hopefully he gets over it soon. I hate to think of him suffering through Hillary media appearances into his adulthood, clutching his blankie to his side.
