If You Leave Me Now

Our neighbor reported seeing a coyote in her backyard recently and as a result my older son is now afraid to be in the backyard without me for any length of time.
It used to be that I could run in the house and go to the bathroom, stir the mac and cheese, or obsessively check my e-mail, and C would be down right vigilant about ensuring that his younger brother didn't leave the backyard.
Now he trails after me wherever I go, no matter how briefly I plan to be gone, or how adamantly I insist no coyotes are going to get him in the interim. Consequently, when Mommy goes in the house, everyone goes in the house.
What's most disheartening about the whole thing is how willing C is to completely abandon his little brother; leaving him in the backyard to face what in C's mind at least is an imminent coyote attack.

song: If You Leave Me Now • artist: Chicago