Cords

Last night I slept better than I have slept in a long time. I have often said that I sleep my absolute best when all four of our babies are under one roof with me, but that is a rare occasion these days. The “babies” span the ages of 21-29. They are all adults with busy, adventurous lives of their own. One of our babies was under our roof last night, though. Our youngest, and our only daughter, finished up her junior year of college and was home with us last night.

Now, of course, as these things go, our daughter was first out with her boyfriend, celebrating their anniversary, and so I didn’t get to sleep quite as early as I usually do. And then, our furry alarm system, a.k.a, our dogs, made it perfectly clear that she gotten home long after we had gone to bed. I’d almost forgotten what it was like to be woken up at all different times of the night, as the four kids made their ways back to our nest from their outings, and dates, and late evening work schedules. Still, knowing that our daughter was safely home with us, I easily fell back into a deep slumber, and I woke up this morning, knowing that I had really SLEPT. I had that rare, well-rested feeling that only the best of night’s sleep can give to us.

We mothers have internal clocks that are so connected to our children’s patterns, it’s sometimes uncanny. We wake to their cries when they are babes, almost instantaneously. I remember that my mother would say, long after my sister and I were married and out of the house, that she would feel instantly hungry right around 3 pm – the time that we would get home from school and share an afternoon snack with her. It’s like the ticking of our internal clocks are in sync with the heartbeats of our children, no matter where our children may be.

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.