Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Three Funerals and a Wedding




So this week has taken a bit of a turn for us. There has been a wedding scheduled for a number of months that Jennifer is doing, but in the past few days we have had a number of deaths, so we have three funerals as well. Joy and sorrow seem to go hand in hand during these times.

It is also this week, today actually, that our oldest daughter turns eight. Another moment of joy in life.

We all know the realities of life, we know that there will be times of sorrow and loss, and that makes the moments of joy that we have all the sweeter. That is why I want to have a weekly post on here where I look at some of the joys in my life and the lives of those around me. I have a feeling that many of these posts will be about things that are embarrassing to me, but hey, as long as I can bring you some joy.

Since it is Sierra's birthday, I was thinking back to a time not long after she was born and we were new parents suffering from a bit of sleep deprivation. We thought we had it all planned out where I would take the shift until 1 or 2 in the morning, Jennifer would go to be early, and they she would take the later shift while I would sleep.

On paper, it looked great, both of us would be able to get at least 6 hours of sleep a night, what an amazing thing.

But again, that was on paper. What babies do and what is written on paper does not match up often.

There were nights it would work and we would get our sleep. There were other nights we would both wake  up when she cried, and  there were nights we would lie in bed, gently nudging the other, saying - no really, it's your turn.

Then there was the night that Sierra started to cry and Jennifer got up to take care of her. I was half asleep, and as she got up I bolted upright in bed and asked what was going on.

I then grabbed my pillow and held it like I was rocking a baby and rocked back and forth. And I really thought I was getting her to go back to sleep.

Yup, sleep deprivation, that is the excuse I a sticking with.


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