Monday, April 16, 2007

Sleeping with Bread: the Caffeine-challenged Version












I sit and stare at the Sleeping with Bread questions.

I've got a little caffeine high going and it is hard to stop. Breathe. Reflect.

WheinsteaditfeelslikemyinsidesaregoingamillionmilesaminuteandIdon'tevenknowwhatitmeanstobreathe.

Slowly though, one thought bubbles up inside.

What caused a sense of desolation for me this week was money: the lack of, the overspending of, the years-long struggle to be a wise, disciplined steward of the generousness of God. A struggle which feels more like the proverbial "one step forward, two steps back" than the "slow and steady wins the race" turtle-like determination.

Sigh.

I breathe. Yes. That is a true desolation for me this week.

Another thought drifts to the surface, frees itself and pops.

What has give me great consolation this week is my children. The ones I complain about constantly. The ones I refer to as Wild Thing One and Wild Thing Two. The ones who wear me down, sometimes with the drip, drip, drip of the Chinese water torture, sometimes with the rushing torrent of a flash flood.

God help me, I love those kids.

My daughter has had lots of hugs for me lately. On Saturday, she kept climbing into my lap while we were at a friend's house. I asked her why I was getting all these hugs. She shrugged her shoulders, leaned in for some more cuddling and then said, "Because you bought me a hamster." She is in the midst of developmental and physical change right now. I look at her and her face looks different. Her words are different. She is really too big for me to carry, although sometimes I will lean over, put my hands under her arms, say "One, two, three!" so she will jump up at the same time I lift her up. By doing so I get enjoy--for the minute or so I can manage to carry her--her arms being wrapped around my neck, her legs around my body.

My son, as much as he resists being labeled, is in some ways the stereotypical teen. But he is so much more than that also. I forget sometimes how self-sufficient he is. I forget that if I stop and take time to explain what I am feeling, or to apologize for my rantings, he is gracious with me. He has long been a kid who wants his own space and is very adamant that his mother not touch him. I sneaked in back pats and hair rubs and sideways hugs for as long as I could. No more. I miss being able to express my love for him physically. But I know that it is more loving for me to respect his wishes in this area than to force it on him. So, I soak in his smiles, enjoy our shared interests in certain television shows and movies and remember the days when he was small enough to be held, his head resting just under my chin.


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Other Sleeping with Bread posts can be found here.

7 comments:

daisies said...

i miss the easy hugs and movie watching snuggles, sigh ... its funny because i think i honestly thought i would always have them (not in public but at home) and then seemingly overnight, touching disappeared and became not allowed ... sigh ...

i am learning to appreciate the other things, talks and shared smiles ...

Mel said...

*nodding*

Laying on the couch watching Ninja Turtles....I miss that..

*sigh*
Boy do I miss that....

Julie Pippert said...

How did I get this far behind on your blog?!?! Wasn't I here yesterday?

Okay:

1. Glad my suggestions were true to form, LOL, and provided you some amusemetn and comfort. Your day sounds way more nuts than I could have anticipated btu I lacked enough knowledge abot the rodent thing err I mean guinea pig. Whatevah. LOL

2. Atypical rocks out loud. I love that quote.

3. Ohhhh MONEY ANGST --> MONEY ANGUISH. Sing to me, choir. Pain and joy = kids. Sing to me choir. Could not have said it better myself.

OhTheJoys said...

What is the origin of Sleeping with Bread?

Unknown said...

Sleeping with Bread is based on a story from after WWII. In a refugee orphanage, many of the children were unable to sleep. They couldn't stop wondering if there would be food for them to eat the next day. Someone decided to give them their morning portion of bread to sleep with. Comforted by the knowledge they wouldn't go hungry in the morning, the children were able to sleep.

So, the idea behind SWB is to hold on to what gives you life and to acknowledge what feels life draining. It is a form of the Ignatian exercise, the examen.

There is a little bit more of an explanation here: Sleeping with Bread Mondays.

Thanks for stopping by.

Beck said...

Money anguish. Groan. We're going through a bit of that right now and it's caused me so much anger and misery - and yet we're seeing the light at the end of the financial trouble and I'm seeing what all of that deprivation has been for.
My oldest isn't a hugger, either...

atypical said...

Thank you for this bread, my friend.

We have been the financial woe route before (Thank the Lord it isn't so right this minute). It is an insidious woe that sneaks about with a magnifying glass held up to every other area of discontent.

I am glad for your consolation. Amazing to me always that these lovely creatures of ours are able to bring such strife at times and still manage to be the greatest joy.

My second born is the non-hugger so I can relate. Thank you for this word picture that so clearly paints for me an image of love.

-t