The luxury of a good night's sleep and why I whine too much
I whine too much. Since turning thirty, or at least that's when I've convinced myself it started, I began enduring phases of insomnia. Initially, it was weird, as I've never had a problem falling asleep anytime during my youth. I remember even sleeping leaning against a wall once. Now, if I'm in the middle of something, or if I am even thinking about being in the middle of something, during those insomniac phases, it'd be "good luck" sleeping any time before three. And the hideous thing (and probably a reason why I whine so much during these times), is that from 1:00 to 3:00, I'm completely braindead and useless. I might as well be sleeping, except that I can't. It sucks.
However, the past couple of weeks, I've realized that I whine too much and need to stop complaining. You see, as I've been volunteering at Central City Community Outreach's "Say Yes!" afterschool program, I've been humbled with the realization that all my years of not having to worry about sleeping were indeed a gift. The fact that my bed was a place of refuge: a luxury. Let me explain.
Two weeks ago, I was helping one of the young boys with his homework... and it was a pain trying to get him to concentrate. He just kept complaining about being itchy and scratching his arms and legs. After a while, I got the distinct notion that finishing his homework was a major concern of only one of us. For the other, it was relieving the itchiness. I thought about getitng him some Calamine lotion, or whatever that pink lotion is that you put on your skin when its itchy... but it got me thinking, "Why is he itchy?" so I asked him. He replied, "I was up all night because I kept getting bit by "bit bugs," they come out at night. "Bit bugs?"
Lightbulb comes on.
He meant "bed bugs"... and when he said he was up all night, he probably was! His bed was not a safe place, as he would lie down hoping to sleep, only to get bitten like crazy when he did. So not only was he suffering from the bites and the itchiness they brought about, but from not being able to sleep! It got me thinking about how I took merely sleeping for granted for most of my life.
Second story. This past week, I was tutoring another young boy... who's just incredibly smart. I remember working with him on his math, and he literally would have the answer before I finished reading the questions! (Of course, it was because he just posited that the question utilized the two sets of numbers included in the paragraph length question... so he just plugged the numbers into his subtraction formulas while I was reading about how many apples Martha lent to her friend). I've worked with him before, so I was concerned when he just started yawning, talking about how tired he was, and eventually just putting his head on the desk between questions. Something was up.
Not only that, his younger brother is narcoleptic. On the days that I volunteer, the kids walk to Inner City Arts, where they get a weekly art class. I try to walk last, to make sure that we don't lose any kids, or have some kids fall behind, on our 5-10 block walk from the Inner City Arts campus to Central City. But this week, the younger brother and his college helper started lagging behind, as he kept walking slower and slower... and slower...and alarmingly slower. The craft for the week was making masks, so it was hard to tell what was going on... so I decided to look through the eye holes to see what was going on. And they were closed. He was sleeping! (but still walking... I wouldn't call it sleepwalking, because he was still functioning, holding his helper's hand, walking, etc.)
The Central City staff were already aware, as he occassionally just fell asleep.... during dinner, during lessons, during homework time. And why? It's a sad story.
I guess their father got deported, so it was them and their mom. The family initially were all going to go back, but the mom thought she could continue working so that their sons would be able to continue going to school in the States. But to help make ends meet, the mom would head out at night with the boys and collect cans at night. So these boys, I'd guess they are around 5 and 7 years old, would be out at night collecting cans with their mom.
Can you blame them then if its hard to concentrate/ stay awake the following day?
I don't know the solution to these types of issues, but it breaks my heart that the kids with the highest need to succeed are oftentimes the ones with the most hurdles to overcome. I truly pray that the kids the staff at Central City ministers to can fulfill their potential and succeed desipte having the odds stacked against them. The longer I'm in the city, the more I've realized why God has placed the inner city in my heart. And the more I'm realizing the opportunities for "the church" to really be "the church." In the case of these kids in the "Say Yes!" program, it's about supporting the staff and ensuring that ministries and ministers like them are given the support and encouragement to keep fighting the good fight.
However, the past couple of weeks, I've realized that I whine too much and need to stop complaining. You see, as I've been volunteering at Central City Community Outreach's "Say Yes!" afterschool program, I've been humbled with the realization that all my years of not having to worry about sleeping were indeed a gift. The fact that my bed was a place of refuge: a luxury. Let me explain.
Two weeks ago, I was helping one of the young boys with his homework... and it was a pain trying to get him to concentrate. He just kept complaining about being itchy and scratching his arms and legs. After a while, I got the distinct notion that finishing his homework was a major concern of only one of us. For the other, it was relieving the itchiness. I thought about getitng him some Calamine lotion, or whatever that pink lotion is that you put on your skin when its itchy... but it got me thinking, "Why is he itchy?" so I asked him. He replied, "I was up all night because I kept getting bit by "bit bugs," they come out at night. "Bit bugs?"
Lightbulb comes on.
He meant "bed bugs"... and when he said he was up all night, he probably was! His bed was not a safe place, as he would lie down hoping to sleep, only to get bitten like crazy when he did. So not only was he suffering from the bites and the itchiness they brought about, but from not being able to sleep! It got me thinking about how I took merely sleeping for granted for most of my life.
Second story. This past week, I was tutoring another young boy... who's just incredibly smart. I remember working with him on his math, and he literally would have the answer before I finished reading the questions! (Of course, it was because he just posited that the question utilized the two sets of numbers included in the paragraph length question... so he just plugged the numbers into his subtraction formulas while I was reading about how many apples Martha lent to her friend). I've worked with him before, so I was concerned when he just started yawning, talking about how tired he was, and eventually just putting his head on the desk between questions. Something was up.
Not only that, his younger brother is narcoleptic. On the days that I volunteer, the kids walk to Inner City Arts, where they get a weekly art class. I try to walk last, to make sure that we don't lose any kids, or have some kids fall behind, on our 5-10 block walk from the Inner City Arts campus to Central City. But this week, the younger brother and his college helper started lagging behind, as he kept walking slower and slower... and slower...and alarmingly slower. The craft for the week was making masks, so it was hard to tell what was going on... so I decided to look through the eye holes to see what was going on. And they were closed. He was sleeping! (but still walking... I wouldn't call it sleepwalking, because he was still functioning, holding his helper's hand, walking, etc.)
The Central City staff were already aware, as he occassionally just fell asleep.... during dinner, during lessons, during homework time. And why? It's a sad story.
I guess their father got deported, so it was them and their mom. The family initially were all going to go back, but the mom thought she could continue working so that their sons would be able to continue going to school in the States. But to help make ends meet, the mom would head out at night with the boys and collect cans at night. So these boys, I'd guess they are around 5 and 7 years old, would be out at night collecting cans with their mom.
Can you blame them then if its hard to concentrate/ stay awake the following day?
I don't know the solution to these types of issues, but it breaks my heart that the kids with the highest need to succeed are oftentimes the ones with the most hurdles to overcome. I truly pray that the kids the staff at Central City ministers to can fulfill their potential and succeed desipte having the odds stacked against them. The longer I'm in the city, the more I've realized why God has placed the inner city in my heart. And the more I'm realizing the opportunities for "the church" to really be "the church." In the case of these kids in the "Say Yes!" program, it's about supporting the staff and ensuring that ministries and ministers like them are given the support and encouragement to keep fighting the good fight.
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