I've been whiny lately. Zoodle's going through this period where he's having trouble going asleep and staying asleep (hence the full-sized bed, which I've already made good use of, sleeping next to him when necessary!)
It's tough, because there are multiple factors that could be contributing to his sleep struggles. (He's teething. Maybe he's giving up his nap, even though he's young for that. Maybe it's just that, as my Twitter friend religionbites said, "He's tttwwwooooo!") And all of those factors need to be dealt with in different ways. So The Engineer and I are just muddling along, trying to figure this out and get through it. Sleep deprivation isn't fun!
There I go...whining again. (Hey, I spend all day with a two-year-old and a four-year-old; I'm bound to pick up their habits, right?) I was all set to write a blog post explaining that I might not be blogging as often while we get through this time, since my inspiration and motivation are directly related to my quality of sleep.
Then I found myself thinking about my friend's uncle and aunt. They are in their 80s, and both of them fell this week. Her uncle's condition is dire, with bleeding in his brain, and they can't operate on him. Her aunt is having severe back pain.
And I realized--what they're going through is truly hard! Dealing with a toddler who's having trouble sleeping--sure, that's a bump in the road, but a bump I probably won't even remember in a year. If I look at my whole life right now, it's pretty amazing. I have a wonderful husband, kids I adore, a nice home, and all my physical needs are met. I have joy and meaning in my life. I have a real family and a church family who love me and enrich me. At 32 years old, my life is wonderful!
Sure, my everyday problems are genuine, but it's just nice to put them in perspective, to realize that even with nighttime wakings, I still love my life. I want to treasure these years with small children. This is a phase I won't get to repeat (assuming God doesn't have any BIG surprises in store for us!)
Amidst my yawns and frustrations, joy is there for the taking. I'm accepting it today!
P.S. I wrote this yesterday. Last night I got 8 1/2 hours of sleep! Now that's something to be thankful for!
6 comments:
Yep- when I hit a week or phase where sleep is lacking, I take pleasure in knowing that extra coffee helps. There are certainly far more unfixable circumstances out there...
I know what it is to need sleep. It makes everything seem so much more difficult and so much less joyful. And yet, it could always be worse. Sometimes we need those reminders to find happy where we can.
Not only are you loved! But we appreciate you as a real person as well. You are encouraging others as much as you are probably inspired by us....
And yes, sleep is important, but over-rated anyhow, don't you agree??? I mean nobody remembers how much sleep they got... ever! But other memories stick forever, and that is seeing your kids grow up and help them along.
Be blessed! And let me know if you need some help....
I love your attitude and I'm glad that you got a good nights sleep. Hopefully the phase will pass quickly and he will be sleeping better soon.
I've been having a rough week also. My son has been acting - out of sorts to put it delicately. Then I got a letter from my sister in Kenya....and stopped feeling sorry for myself. Okay, I still felt a little sorry for myself but I tried not to. I posted her letter on the blog today, it's amazing what's going on there.
I needed this today- my 7 month old was up a lot last night! Very true - so many have it worse and I try to keep that in mind, never hurts to have a reminder, so thanks!
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