Gratitude

I have some odd thanks this week. Of course, there is the usual...family, friends, the gospel, and yes...cheese. But this week holds a whole new level of gratitude for me. You see, Julia has been a fabulous sleeper for over a year now. She goes to bed at 8, gets up at 7 and takes a 3 hour nap every afternoon. No crying, no whining, just good sleeping. Apparently I was taking this for granted and the Lord felt the need to remind me of this immense blessing. A couple of weeks ago, out of the blue, Julia started screaming instead of napping. I thought maybe she was coming down with something. Then, the scarier thought, maybe she's outgrowing naps (AAHHHHH). THen, last week, she started screaming at bedtime as well. Well, she is clearly not outgrowing bedtime...and she didn't get sick so what else? A day or so later, she starts crying that her belly hurts. No fever, no vomiting, what is going on in there? Then I discover the problem...constipation. For those of you who have heard enough stories about my toddlers bowel movements to last a lifetime, feel free to stop reading. This poor child has been in agony for over a week. The doc says, "add more fruit to her diet...preferably pitted fruit." I can tell you, grocery stores in Cape do not sell pitted fruit this time of year. So we were on a grape and orange diet for days...to no avail. Just crying because it hurt and nothing happened. Remember, the no sleeping is getting worse all the while. Today I broke down and gave her some pedia-lax. FIVE HOURS LATER (the label says it works in 1/2 to 6 hours), she is free! And, even better, she did it in the potty and now she is very excited about using the potty. After all, it did make her feel much better. And, best of all, when I laid her in her bed at 8:30 tonight, she just rolled over and went to sleep. No whining, no crying, just sleeping. And I am SOOO grateful.