It Was the Waiting – A Song About Childhood Trauma and Healing – Our Unfinished Story

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It Was the Waiting – A Song About Childhood Trauma and Healing

About This Video

"It Was the Waiting" is an emotional original song by Donald Faulknor about childhood fear, uncertainty, and how early experiences can continue affecting us long into adulthood.

Inspired by a personal childhood experience, the song explores the fear of waiting for a door to open, knowing that punishment might follow, and feeling powerless to explain or change what was coming.

But this isn't a song about blame. It's about understanding the little boy who learned to anticipate danger and the adult who is still learning that waiting doesn't always mean something bad is about to happen.

Read the personal chapter that inspired this song:
https://ourunfinishedstory.com/chapter/childhood-fear-waiting-for-danger

Part of Our Unfinished Story, a personal Life Library by Donald Faulknor exploring childhood experiences, faith, fatherhood, heartbreak, emotional healing, and becoming.

Published Oct 25, 2026 3:50

This video is a creative reflection from Our Unfinished Story. It is not professional counseling, medical advice, legal advice, or crisis support. If a topic feels heavy, pause and take care of yourself. For urgent or crisis support, visit When You Need More Help.

Related Chapter

Some childhood fear does not come only from what happens. It comes from waiting for what might happen. This chapter reflects on how anticipation, uncertainty, and punishment shaped my body’s response to fear long after childhood ended.

How Childhood Fear Teaches Your Body to Wait for Danger →

Transcript

Words from the video

It Was the Waiting
Original Song by Donald Faulknor

[Verse 1]
The house fell quiet every night
As shadows faded from the light
No shouting needed, nothing more
Just footsteps moving toward the door

[Verse 2]
By then the story had been told
The ending written, hard and cold
I could be good, I could be kind
Still have no chance to speak my mind

[Pre-Chorus]
Some days he saw me for himself
And that belt stayed upon the shelf
A curious child, a restless soul
Not the story he'd been told

[Chorus]
It wasn't the door, it was the waiting
The racing heart, the breath I was saving
The fear that nothing I could say
Could change what happened anyway

[Verse 3]
Now years have passed, and I have grown
But fear can find a different home
A message late, a changing tone
Can make me feel that small again

[Chorus]
It wasn't the door, it was the waiting
The racing heart, the breath I was saving
The fear that nothing I could say
Could change what happened anyway

[Bridge]
I won't call that young boy weak
For all the things he couldn't speak
I tell him what he needed then
A door can open, and peace come in

[Final Chorus]
It wasn't the door, it was the waiting
A little heart that never stopped bracing
But now I'm learning how to breathe
And let that frightened child find peace

About the Project

Created by Donald Faulknor

Our Unfinished Story is a Life Library of faith, fatherhood, heartbreak, healing, becoming, and rebuilding. These videos are created as doorways into the larger story — reflections, songs, and visual pieces connected to the chapters still being written.

The website holds the deeper Life Library. Social platforms and videos create doorways, but the full story continues through the chapters, reader paths, and long-form reflections on the site.