Our middle son somehow wasn't going to go to bed. He ended up walking the around the house till midnite, after all the threats of taking away "his turn" at Wii the next day, urging him to eat something (maybe he's just hungry!!), my husband trying to do the wrestle him down technique (that back fired) and me just going to bed and shutting the door, too exhausted to deal with it. He eventually ended up (according to my hubby) on the couch, sleeping there till morning. Eventually he told me he was mad, I guess really mad, that he just couldn't be mad and go to bed at the same time. The next night was shaping up to be the same. Steve didn't say anything, but tried my tactic and went to bed and closed the door. Our son was ticked off about something again, and decided to turn on the light at midnite and sit in bed with arms crossed. Ok, so what now?? I am increasingly befuddled and bewildered over some of the behavior patterns of my kids, and this was going to be a classic observation night for me to try to understand this guy.
I hopped out of bed, went into his room and sat on his bed...determined to wait (through hell or highwater) this through. He turned his back on me, so I studied the sleeping form of my other son in the other bed (they share a room). "How can he sleep with the light on? How long will I sit here? What is going on in that 12 year brain of his, why is he mad this time?" these questions and more slowly wafted through an already tired brain. After about 15 minutes, he got up (the mad one), walked to the hallway, our room and the bathroom and turned all the lights on without saying a word. Then went to sit, arms crossed and back towards me. Hmmm...he wants us all to be awake with him (I'm great at analyzing mysterious actions), and wants us to be as miserable as he is, and he hasn't kicked me out of his room...is that a good thing? has he accepted my presence (like wildlife in the jungle)? on and on I analyze, as well as pray. I am a praying women you know, and this was no exception. Having kids (boys....) forces one to pray and pray hard, on your knees if you have to. Super human, pleading prayers that you know that God has to answer or else one of his creations will go looney trying to figure this out on her own.
Well, God answered one of my prayers that night. He pulled up his blanket that he had thrown on the floor, covered himself up with it (feet on pillow) and promptly fell asleep. Hmmmm....I thanked God that it hadn't turned out to be the all-nighter I thought might happen and as I turned out all the lights (my bemused husband looking up blearily) reflected that "being" with my son was more important then "doing" anything anyway (or having the right parenting method!). These times I'm "in the dark" may be the way to deeper understanding, not just my son... but my Father and another radical way to learn to love and "be" with my family and others around me in a deeper way.
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