Rip Van Winkle

I envy Rip Van Winkle sometimes; or anyone else who gets to sleep a full 8 hours every night. Most nights after I put Bear to bed at 8:00, I have at least an hour's worth of chores left. Then, I need to unwind before I can get to sleep. It's usually sometime between 11:00 and midnight when I finally get to bed and experience that glorious feeling when your sore body relaxes into your mattress. I love that feeling. I get up early to workout...well, you get the picture.

Some people would attribute this lack of sleep simply from being a mother. Sure, she keeps me busy, but there are other roles to fill as well on a daily basis: wife, daughter, sister, daughter-in-law, granddaughter-in-law, sister-in-law, niece-in-law, cousin-in-law, auntie, housekeeper, chef, minister...more than the average person needs to do everyday. But is this truly the root of my exhaustion? I think not.

There are lots of people who aren't mothers or wives or this or that and are just as tired as me. Why is that? Why is it that even if we get our full REM cycle, we still wake up weary. It's the burden of living in this world. Day after day, we are inundated with news of greed, lust, and anger (and I'm not just talking international news, this is personal news, too). I don't care who you are, living with that tension 24/7 is just too much for these physical bodies of ours.

How do we solve this? Sabbath. Friends who aren't Christians, stay with me here. While the Sabbath does represent God's resting after 6 days of creation, it is also designed for us. We just aren't built to go go go without ceasing. Once a week, I celebrate what I call Jammie Monday with Bear. Every Monday, we stay in our jammies and chill. I don't go anywhere or do anything (aside a couple dishes here and there). Now, I'm flexible. If something comes up that requires me to skip it, I do. But I feel it for the rest of the week.

I know not everyone has a full day to just relax. If you do, take it! If not, maybe set aside an evening every week where you do take-out and use disposable dishes and get comfy cozy with a good book or movie. No work allowed. I challenge you to do that. And after a while of this being habit, I'll bet you have a little more energy.