« 2008 Political Race: Obama and McCain Announce Vice Presidential Running Mates | Main | Anti-Christian Violence in Orissa, India Going Strong Again »
Getting Comfortable
By Marc | September 2, 2008
This morning at a little after three, our two-year-old woke me up by standing in the hallway, blanket in hand, crying. This isn’t your tears running down the cheeks crying, it was the half-awake-making-noise-so-someone-will-hear-you type. Usually when he needs me in the middle of the night, he’ll usually try to pull me out of bed or force his sippy cup on me (when it needs refilled). If it’s not urgent and the boys just wake up, they’ll usually just crawl into bed with Julie and me. My first instinct upon getting out of bed was to pick him up and carry him into our room.
He didn’t want that.
I set him down, upon which he headed into his room, lay down, and directed me to cover him up with his “blankie”. Since his blanket, really the comforter from his crib, has a blank side and a quilted side, he put up a fuss when the quilted side was faced down. When all was adjusted, he had a smile of contentment I see so often lately when he’s cozy. Then he called for a book from the shelf to look through. I grabbed 3 or 4 I knew he enjoyed, so he was happy as a clam with the blankie and the books.
He just wanted to get comfortable so he could go back to sleep.
Many of us need to have certain conditions met if we want to get to sleep at night. (Heck, sometimes we need others met just so we don’t fall apart during the day.) Sometimes they’re physical things like the right amount of covers or a position we are comfortable with. Other times it’s a mental thing, such as knowing your family is okay or the person who should be lying next to you still is.
I can’t tell you how many hours of sleep I’ve lost because of worries, anxiety, anticipation, an idea that pops into my head, or just feeling alone. I have to find something to do that I know will help me to sleep. I’ll turn on the TV, get a drink of water, or read a book, things I know will shift my thoughts enough to get me off the current path into one more accustomed to rest.
Sometimes, when Julie has a bad sinus infection and she needs to sleep, there is absolutely nothing she can do that will help her. She’s tired and sapped for energy, but uncomfortable as all get-out. She knows eventually she will get to sleep, but it’s just a matter of waiting.
Our five-year-old, when he wants to sleep, will simply stare into space until his eyes grow heavy and he’s out.
I think life, at times, is a lot like falling asleep. When it gets difficult or when something’s missing, we have to either deal with what’s wrong, find something to distract us for a time, or simply wait it out.
My boys have unintentionally shown me a lot about life that I take for granted. In a strange way, this incident has gotten me to think of friends and acquaintances who have gone through loss and are just maybe trying to feel normal enough to rest.
Topics: Life and Living | No Comments »
