I've been wondering this a lot lately. Part of me thinks this is because...I'm actually making progress in therapy. Last year, I would have said..."There is no such thing as safe touch for me." But I don't think that is true anymore. I have experienced it in the 1st person. AND I liked it! I just don't know what all when into making it "safe" for me.

Last summer I remember one evening while camping my youngest (8 at the time) was overtired and had retreated to the cabin where he just laid down on the bed and started crying. He was upset, didn't want others to see him cry so he hid himself. That evening I entered that cabin, quietly called him out of hiding, helped him settle down and rub his back until he finally drifted off to sleep. This was safe touch. I remember thinking as he lay sleeping, It is amazing how he was able to just lay down beside me openly sobbing and let me comfort him. I wondered if there was ever a time in my life where I was comfortable enough with someone to drift off to sleep with them rubbing my back.

Safe touch exists. I don't ever recall feeling as safe and as accepting as my son did that night, but I have felt glimpses of it. Somehow, its recently occurred to me that maybe it it possible for me to learn how to experience it. Then again...maybe its too late.