Tender Mercies - Having Trouble Trying to Sleep...

Because school is awesome.

I love school.

I am so grateful for it.

It makes me so very happy.

In high school I set a goal to not do homework on Sundays.  

This has meant that I have started writing papers and doing assignments at 12 am Monday morning.

This may seem a little extreme.

But, to be honest, I have felt that my decision has been a huge blessing for me.

Take this past week for example.

Here is a summary:

I had a few time consuming  assignments due,

a ton of research to do,

a major research presentation to present,

a few hundred pages of reading to complete, understand and discuss,

a 2500 word essay to write,

classes, 

grading,

and 2 jobs.

Plus the fact that I got the head cold from Hades and was in bed for the bottom half of the week.

Busy week.

I was able to manage except for the 2500 word essay.

I just didn't have any time to prepare for it.

So the due date of Monday became imminent, Saturday started and I had not, and my goal of no homework on Sunday seemed like the wall between me and the completion of my paper.

Not only was Sunday getting in my way but General Conference was going to knock out another 8 hours of my weekend, along with a few more hours of family obligations.

I seriously debated, after years of holding strong, ending the practice and failing the goal.

I mean, I was in grad school now right?

I needed that extra time.

But...

I didn't.

Here is what happened.

 Saturday morning I woke up super, super sick.

We watched the first session of conference as a familia.

During the 2 hour break I was miraculously able to create a pretty specific outline for the paper and the introductory paragraph.

This is the hardest part for me because I think of it as drawing the lines for the picture.  After this point you just have to fill in the blanks.

Then we watched the next session.

It was wonderful.

After being so stressed and numb all week, feeling the Spirit so strongly was so comforting.

Afterwards I intended to spend another 2 hours working on the essay before heading over to Karen the Great's for my birthday party (oh, my birthday was on Monday), but the girls decided they wanted to go earlier.

So I brought my essay stuff but found that T-dog required my unrequited attention for the entire time there.

It was ok, it was worth playing with my favorite 2 year old.

So I got home, sick, exhausted and upset.

I had a quote come to my mind that I heard from President Thomas S. Monson who was quoting Longfellow.

"The heights by great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight; but they, while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night."

So, I got working and worked until midnight.

Sunday was much like Saturday.

Watching conference and spending the day with my wonderful family.

Including cutting the bug's super long hair.

I started my paper at 12:00 am this (Monday) morning.

I finished at 3:33.

I was in bed by 3:45 but didn't get to sleep for a few minutes.

I was awake by 4:50.

I ended up not having to take the kids to swimming and slept another 45 minutes.

Then I left for class.

Now I am at job 2.

And you know what?

I am not tired.  

I am not on caffeine.

(it makes me fall asleep anyway)

I am just really blessed.

I really believe that I have been blessed because I kept my goal to keep the sabbath day holy.

Even though I did it in a very literal way.

So there you go.

Tender mercies.