Grounded

My life is as crazy as the world is now.  I won't give you the laundry list, as you know it and inhabit it yourself.  But suffice to say each day I get to the end and almost have to brace myself, as if I just got off a roller coaster that was a little bit too aggressive for my tastes.  

It isn't the absolute end of my waking hours, my bedtime stories with Asher marks an important part of each day's conclusion.  Practically, once he goes down it's one less thing to worry about, so even if I have professional or personal things to tend to, I can do so breathing a sigh of relief that my rambunctious five-year-old isn't still a spinning plate I have to keep an eye on.  

But I think also psychologically, there is a routine to our time together that grounds me amid all that makes up my life right now.  It may seem trite but is no less true: your kindergarten child does not concern themselves with what financial, professional, relational, or physical issue you had to deal with before hopping onto your lap.  At that moment, they demand all your attention and care not what kind of day you had.

Whether he is crotchety or sweet, that kind of grounding is useful for me.  Yes, the things that weigh me down each day are not trivial matters.  If I'm worn down, stressed out, feeling spent...those are legit feelings.  But it is helpful to carry them alongside a daily dose of bedtime stories with Asher.  It grounds me.  He grounds me.