The Gift of Time

I am grateful for Saturday mornings and a husband that lets me have them.

For as long as I can remember—at least as a child, Saturday meant sleeping in. The weekdays were busy. Late nights, early mornings. No naps. No rest. And for me, no idle time. Recreation, vacations, down time never existed.  So Saturday was my cherished treasure.

It was taken away with the responsibilities of married life and children. In fact, my body craved sleep so much during that time, that even when I was awake I often tried to lie down, but with children, that never lasted long. My children never napped long (as in their age) and I had so many that even when some were napping I was working to catch up on other matters or caring for another child. If someone was up for any reason in the night, so was I.  I was so sleep-deprived I often bordered on psychotic behavior, but I knew no respite. We couldn't afford someone to relieve me and daycare was never an option. Even when the children were older, we couldn't afford another car so I was up with seminary and late into the night picking children up or helping them with homework. When work outside the home entered the picture, my sleep was still deprived, but my husband took over much of the early morning seminary routes so I didn't have to get up earlier to get ready for work.

And now, when I enter the ’empty nest’ season in life, my body wakes at the normal time, but I am content to quickly fall back to sleep. When I reawaken, (my husband long gone) I lie for hours, just thinking. Memories trickle in and out of a near-wakened state as I reflect about days past, the day ahead, my problems, and things that make me happy. When I have pondered long, I often drift off to that sacred slumber again. It is pure heaven to not have to be anywhere at a certain time and have the luxury of uninterrupted time to do nothing...but think.  I treasure my Saturday mornings and am thankful that I have them again.

Even though this is a gratitude post, it occurs to me that husbands reading this need to help their wives to get the sleep and alone time they need to regain the person they are. I am grateful for the husbands of my daughters and daughter-in-law that already do this.