“White Noise”

I heard Carter crying out from his room at bed time, so I went upstairs to check on him.
I walked through the door and saw that he was covering his ears.
I said to him, “What’s wrong?”
“What’s the matter?”
He said, “My ears hurt”, (sensory), and continued to cover his ears.
I said, “Do you want me to turn the rain off?” (Which is the sound of rainfall from his white noise machine)
He said “On.”
So I asked, “Do you want me to turn the (ceiling) fan on?”
And he said “Yes please.”
I turned on the fan, and then I knelt down beside his bed.
With the night light of stars shining above us, I ran my fingers through his hair like I did when he smaller. I rested my head on his pillow beside him, and I gazed into his eyes.
I told him I loved him, and he whispered something back to me.
I asked him “pardon?”

He lifted his head, leaned in towards me and said “See you later Mommy!”

Which, in Carter lingo translates to, “Get the hell out of my room!”