Sunday, October 28, 2007

Home at Last...

Today my Grandmother went home. My "Mama Ruth", as we affectionately called her, has finally gone to the place where she will be made whole again...heaven. Mama Ruth was diagnosed with Alzheimer's almost 15 years ago and it has been a long and sad decline for her especially over the past ten years.

Mama Ruth was a lifelong disciple of Jesus Christ and I have no doubts or concerns about who's feet she is now sitting at. She attended church every Sunday, gave to the church willingly and cheerfully, served on many committees and shared her faith openly by the way she lived her life. She was a great example of the type of disciple I want to be for my Lord.

I've never known a more gentle and loving soul and I doubt that I ever will again. She was the type of woman who apologized for saying "fiddle", knew every grandchild's favorite food and made certain that it was present at Christmas and Easter dinners. She always (and I mean always) put everyone before herself.


Edited to add: I miss her especially now as we approach the Holiday Season. One of her grandchildren described her as having the "gift of hospitality" and she did. Since her passing I have been trying very hard to embrace that gift, which is one I certainly lack. I worry about all of the wrong things when it comes to entertaining in my home. J and I are hosting Thanksgiving here this year and I hope that in doing so we can honor her life and gift.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Why won't he sleep?

I have been through this several times now with Ivan, so why is it still so upsetting?

Ivan is still napping for an hour to an hour and half every day. I put him in his bed and tell him that he does not have to go to sleep, but that he needs to have some quiet time. He goes to sleep almost every day. At bedtime however, he stays awake until J and I go to bed and sometimes long after. Like last night for instance...he was wide awake at midnight. I finally went in there and yelled at him that he needed to be quiet and go to sleep. Not the way I really want to end our day. Then this morning he did not want to get up and it took me 10 minutes or more to get him out of bed. He had preschool this morning so it was imperative that he get up and get going in a timely manner.

He napped again this afternoon and I am planning on putting him to bed early because he is a basket-case from being so tired. I am at my wits end about this and I just don't know what to do to get him to sleep.

I will admit that there is a part of me that thinks getting rid of nap time is the answer but then there is a part of me that needs for him to nap, so that I get a midday break. Perhaps the answer is to give him a real quiet time and not do it in his bed. I'm just not quite sure how to make that happen. This parenting thing is tough and I just hope that I am on the right track.