Getting enough sleep was a frequent topic among my friend group, when my first few children were small. We shared both the relief of babies who slept more than they cried, and the slog of kids who needed us in the wee hours. I remember one woman who had a strategy with her toddlers that turned the tide. If they stayed in bed all night without coming to wake her
up, there would be a treat under their pillow.
Now I was and still am a fan of meeting children's needs even at three a.m. but if a boy can be nudged to go back to sleep with a small reward, bring it on.
Recently, I have been waking up to find a surprise by my computer. Or my sewing machine. Benjamin, who stays up later than me, has become the giver. He places a peanut butter cup where I am likely to go first. I am charmed by his
generosity. The idea that he wants to bring me deliciousness in the early hours of my writing or quilting is the sweetest thing I can imagine.
The difference between his gesture and that of my friend thirty-five years ago, is that he is not trying to change me. He simply wants to make me happy.
On one of his rambles with his two good friends, he talked about this. This is what she relayed to me.
"He said, "I like to make people happy. It makes me happy." I said yes, and it makes the Lord happy.
Later in the walk, Ben said, "You know what makes me joyful?" What? "Weddings. Weddings are joyful." He told me about going to two weddings this summer, and how he had sugar cookies cut in the shapes of leaves. "
Being Benjamin's mother is not what I could have predicted, back when my worst problems were exhaustion and diapers. It turns out that God woke up before me and left a miracle.
