Sleep

This week has been a challenging Mommy week. My head knows that post vacation weeks are always difficult, but the rest of me still gets caught by surprise. We have had to focus on obedience quite a bit the last few days, particularly with one of my sweet children (My children seem to take turns having challenging weeks. I am thankful they typically do not all choose the same week!). It kind of came to a head today. Thursday mornings are often difficult. We are up later than normal on Wednesday nights because of church, yet the children tend to get up at normal time on Thursday mornings. Everyone just seems to be a little fussier than normal (including Mommy). It was even more exaggerated today because we are still trying to get back to a good sleep schedule. As a result, the child of the week was extremely whiny. Eventually, this child threw a huge, screaming fit. This led to an ultimatum: Either take a nap or go to bed early! After a four hour nap, peace seems to be restored to our family. I was reminded once again how important sleep is. It is so easy to see it in a child -- a normally obedient child can become a terror when sleep is not happening. I know the same is true for adults, yet it is harder to recognize. How often am I fussy with my children because I need more sleep? I will close for now, I am off to bed!