My Son Woke Up at 6am

I love to think I am in control of things. I choose to wake up at a certain time, go to sleep at a certain time, read a book I choose, control the finances I have, write, work, etc. The reality is though, all it takes is something, anything, unexpected to throw all of it out of whack. It is these moments where, in the past, I would get incredibly frustrated because 'THIS ISN'T GOING THE WAY I HAD PLANNED!'

This morning my son woke up at 6am. Because of the events of yesterday evening I needed to get some extra rest, so I had set my alarm for 6am instead of 5:30 planning to get up and write for 30mins then head to church to prepare before our 9:30 gathering. At 5:58am I heard the two words through our baby monitor, which tells me my son is awake: 'Get Out.' I knew at this moment I wasn't going to be writing at 6am, but would be going into his room, telling him it was too early and he needed to go back to sleep for a bit longer, listen to him cry for 5mins, and lie with him till close to 7am. This is what happened.

I say all of this because this morning I didn't react the way I used to. I woke up with compassion on for my son realizing he had a bad dream, or was a little restless and just needed me to help him through the last part of his sleep. I also realized no matter what I have to do in life, my wife and children will ALWAYS go before anything else, including writing. At 5:58am there was no where I needed to be more than holding my son and lying down with him till 7, nothing.

And so, I write at 7:30 for a short bit of time because I need to write. But, I write at this time because the more important thing took my attention earlier this morning. My whole day has started not the way I expected it to, it has started 'out of my control,' but is anything really in our control? The truth is there is very little guaranteed in this life. When surprises come my way I am not expecting I am now choosing to not react, realize many things are out of my control, and do my best to navigate through these unexpected times.

I hope I can continue to do this. It is a choice. Today I chose to not react. Tomorrow I may not. Day by day-one day at a time.