My neocortex is at it again!

Last night I had to get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and on my way back to bed, I literally SPRINTED through the kitchen and practically vaulted into bed from the hallway.  Why you ask?  I’m still thinking about them zombies.

There, I said it.

Tidbit of info - the neocortex and thalamus of the brain are mainly responsible for creativity and imagination – so I guess you could say these tricksters have dominant control in my ol’ dome. The fact that I’m turning 32 this weekend does not diminish my irrational (and often bane of my existence) overactive imagination. I have a sinking feeling that even when I have children of my own, I will be just as scared as they are of the monster under the bed and in the closet. My kids will definitely be turning to daddy when things go bump in the night!

The first indication that I may not be well-suited for nocturnal comforting was last summer when I was babysitting Leanna, Christopher and Ella overnight while my sis and Chris were at a wedding.  Christopher woke me up at 3AM in a sleepy fog, standing at the edge of my bed and pointing to the far corner of the dark room. “Who’s THAT?” he says as he rubs his eyes.  Before he could finish his sentence, I scooped him one-handed out of the bedroom and into Leanna’s room, slapping on the light with my heart pounding out of my chest.  It took all the courage I could muster to re-enter my sister’s bedroom and flick on the light.  Of course, it was nothing; just the ramblings of a groggy four year-old who’d just woken from a dream.  Why hadn’t I considered that first, before bolting out of the room like a woman with her hair on fire? 

Blame it on the brain, as Milli Vanilli would (not) say.

Seriously though – how do I overcome this both for my own sanity and for the future sanity of my children?  Simple answer – stop watching scary movies.  No. It’s way past that. I’ve seen wayyyy too many movies that have archived themselves in the recesses in my mind, ready to be brought forth at the darkest hour.

“You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.” - Mark Twain