Poor scared boy

Eddie has been behaving strangely lately. Real clingy. Instead of sneaking off to a back room to take a nap like he usually does, he'll lie at my feet or hop up on my lap. He always snuggles with his mama, but even she's noticed that he's been more affectionate.

Of course, I always panic. I figured he was getting sick. I'd been putting off an appointment to get his runny eyes checked, so I did that right away. He's got some ointment to put in them, and they seem to be getting better.

But he's still not his normal "loner" self.

I think early this morning I figured it out. There's road construction going on along the highway our house butts up against. And the big tractors they use rumble and actually shake the house from time to time.

This morning, Eddie hopped up on the bed, got under the blankets right next to me -- something he almost never does -- and snuggled as close as he could get.

What startled me is he was shaking like a leaf. I was terrified at first, but he looked OK, just scared. I guess I've gotten so used to the noise (it's been going on all summer) that I've forgotten about it.

Eddie evidently hasn't. He must shake all day while we're at work.

I'm not sure what the experts would say to do in that situation. Lots of times, they say ignore it. But I couldn't bring myself to do that. I just hugged him as tight as I could and wrapped the blankets around him. He eventually settled down.

Poor little guy. I hope the road work ends soon.