Embrace them.

For the past couple of months Sarah (who HAD been sleeping thru the night) has been waking up once or sometimes twice to eat.  This, obviously, has put a slight cramp in my sleep cycle.

Last night (in a half-awake stupor) after coming into her room a second time I started to run though a list of ways to break her of this new habit.  I could feel my body start to tense as I anxiously tried to concoct an array of possible schemes in my head.

Then, I heard it…like a gentle whisper: “These moments I am giving you are a gift.”  I then looked down at Sarah’s sweet face staring up at me.  She smiled and gently cooed (what I interpreted to be) words of affection.  I stroked her soft cheeks with my fingertips and watched as her eyelids got heavy.  I breathed in her sweet baby smell; basking in this precious moment.   Then I realized that these moments were fleeting and would soon be over.  A distant memory.  I felt the calm come over me as I gently told myself: Embrace them, Shannon.  Embrace them.

So I rested in that moment knowing that sleep could always wait for another day.