31 Day Writing Challenge 2014,  On Being a Wife

Honoring My Husband By Getting More Sleep

Sometimes honoring my husband can be as simple as taking his advice when he wants what is best for me.

Andy has been telling me to get more sleep ever since we first got married. I agree with him. I need more sleep. I often stay up late prepping the house for the next day, writing lists of things I need to get done, or reading other people’s updates on the computer. Then I realize that there are more dishes in the sink, and I get to work in the kitchen to make sure everything is “perfect.” Finally, I brush and floss my teeth, shower, and wake the kids to go potty one more time so they don’t have an accident. There might be laundry that I forgot about, sitting in the dryer, so I fold it before I go to bed. By then, I am so delirious that I take forever to finish folding.

Andy sees it more than anyone else does. I don’t take good care of my own needs. I don’t know how to stop doing things that are on my mental to-do list.

How many years are going to go by before I honor my husband in this area? How many years will I get 3 hours less sleep than everyone else every night? I have a sleep deprivation of 20 hours per week, 80 hours per month. That is just crazy. I’m going to die before all of you good sleepers.

Tonight, I am going to end this post early, because Andy is really concerned for my health. These are the last days before I give birth to my 5th baby. Soon, in November, I will be waking up for feedings all through the night. Of course I should be getting as much sleep as I can right now.

I’ve loved writing for the past few days so I could stick to this commitment to post all 31 days in October. But tonight I am going to honor Andy and finish quickly so I can get to bed. I want to be a morning writer, not a middle of the night writer. Maybe God can change me. I can’t wait to see how much more productive I can be if I get more sleep. I think I will be more patient with my kids. And it will make Andy really happy.

Pray for me, if you can. I want to become a morning person. I feel like it is impossible for me. But I know that God can do anything.

Chelsea Rotunno is the author of Goodnight to My Thoughts of You, a novel about life as a Christian teen searching for true love.

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