Angel Kisses

One tradition I love to do with my son is what I call “angel kisses.” Just before I go to bed at night, after he’s been asleep for quite a while, I tiptoe into his room and give him a kiss on the forehead. He’s a pretty heavy sleeper so he rarely even stirs, but he knows that I do it. If my husband and I are going out for the night and a babysitter will be putting him to bed, I can often quash his protests by reminding him that I will come in and give him an angel kiss when I get home, while he’s asleep. So even if he doesn’t wake up to feel it, he knows I’ll check on him before morning.

One of the reasons I love angel kisses is that they give me the chance to see my son when he is quiet and peaceful. At the age of three, he is often rebellious and petulant and disobedient and frustrating to be around. But seeing him asleep lets me imagine him as his most perfect self: calm, unresisting, and sweet. It reminds me of his potential, and it reassures me that he has that calm, sweet boy inside him who someday will once again emerge from the rebellious tot. After a particularly frustrating day, I look at his sleeping face and think, “Why aren’t you like this all the time? Why can’t you stop fighting against me and obey? Why can’t you trust that I’m doing what’s best for you? Why can’t you just submit your stubborn little will to my greater wisdom?”

And then I realize that God must look at me and think the same thing. But then I also remember that He always sees me through the blood of Christ as that peaceful, obedient servant that I could – and should – be. And I forgive my son for his stubborn spirit, just as God forgives me for mine. And I thank my Father above that He loves me infinitely more than I am humanly capable of loving my own dear children.

“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" (Matthew 7:9-11)

 

Sleeping Angels

This is probably true of most parents, but I love to watch my children sleep. There’s something incredibly peaceful about how fully they relax when they sleep. I often refer to it as “full body sleep”. I’ve commented in the past that my daughter seems to double in weight when she falls asleep – that’s how completely and utterly relaxed she gets.

I also like to watch them sleep because they’re both such funny sleepers. My son tends to sleep on top of his pillows and stuffed animals, sometimes with his blanket bundled into a lump underneath him, or with a pillow on top of his face. He’s usually in some odd, contorted position, as if he fell asleep in the middle of doing something. Arms over his head, legs in a running position, head tipped at some strange angle. And my daughter, in common baby fashion, falls asleep with her backside sticking up in midair, or her thumb in her mouth, or contorted into some awkward position that no-one but a baby could ever be comfortable in. Despite their relaxed state, both of them occasionally even fall asleep with one hand up in the air, hovering a few inches off the bed as if levitating as part of a magician’s show.

One of my favorite parts of watching my kids sleep isn’t even the watching, it’s the listening. Like their parents, they both tend to be snorers. Not heavy-duty, sawing-wood, set-your-teeth-on-edge kind of snoring, just a gentle, soothing gurgle. We’d given some thought as to how and when we could move my daughter’s crib out of our bedroom, but the more I think about it, the more I realize how much I’ll miss listening to her quiet breathing, her occasional sleeping coos and laughs, her soft sighs, and her little snurfly gurgle. And when I sit in my son’s room waiting for him to fall asleep during naptime, I love listening to his breathing slow down and become regular, and finally turning into his contented little whistling snore.
But I think the best part of all about watching my babies sleep is that I know I won’t have to do any scolding or punishing or comforting. Watching a peacefully sleeping child involves none of the hard parts of parenting. Just enjoying the fruits of your labors.