Thoughts from a sleepless night

I’ve been a ba-aaad blogger lately… which makes me sad because my kids absolutely love reading our printed blog books. So, I need to be better.

But quite honestly, there has been nothing that has happened that has been super clever or humorous and I’m a little worn out so I’m struggling to put a creative spin on the groundhog day that is my life.

We are busy. Jace is working more than ever – and while that will hopefully change soon – I’m grateful for his sacrifices for us and his ability to be totally plugged in at home. He puts in 70 hours per week and then comes home, rolls us the sleeves on his white shirt and puts the kids to bed, does the dishes, helps me with laundry and then snuggles with me while I watch crap tv.

I married way up.

And the kids are doing good. We are still struggling with the same things we always struggle with but there are little improvements and victories that keep me going. Gavin and Sydney are swimming, Aj is playing futsal (indoor soccer) and they all have good grades.

But, still, I’m a mom and I worry. Sometimes, those worries keep me up at night. Sometimes, they are stupid things – like worrying about keeping up my blog. Sometimes they are legitimate – like, wondering if Aj’s new meds will help him have a better experience at school without too many side effects.

And, sometimes, I just can’t go back to sleep.

I was talking to a friend and laughing it off and she was telling me how her 6yo daughter struggles to fall asleep ‘cause she can’t shut it off, either. They had tried everything one night – stories, lullabies, warm milk, tv – and on and on and ON. She finally just tucked her girl in and said, “I’m tired, baby-girl, and I need to sleep so I can be a good mama tomorrow. Here’s what you need to do. Pray. Start at the beginning of the day and tell him everything you did today – and I mean, EVERYTHING. Don’t leave anything out. And then – if you get through your today, tell him everything your thankful for. And if you get done with that, start praying for all for your family members. And THEN, if you’re still awake, it will be morning and God will help you through your day.”

She went back to check on her angel girl 20 minutes later and she was fast asleep.

I giggled because we all know the fastest way to fall asleep is some scripture-reading and earnest prayer. HA!

I won’t lie – I had to try it the other night.

It works. I usually get half-way through my day. Sometimes I’ll wake up multiple times and I’ll just say, “now, God, where was I? Oh, yeah… so then, I made the kids’ lunches and drove them to school…” I’m sure that it not only puts me to sleep but I’m fairly certain I’m getting the parental, Uh-huh, from God, too. You know, the one you give your kids when they are telling you something that is SUPER important to you but is SUPER boring to listen to because they have to give you every detail?

But it’s my new go-to when I get so fidgety at night I can’t sleep. Yet, something remarkable has happened as a result of my new remedy to sleeplessness… I wake up a whole lot less frustrated and exhausted than I used to and with a fresher perspective on life.

You may want to try it. 

It’s better than melatonin.