naptime ritual

Part of what I love about being an Anglican is the repetition. Yup. I like it that I know what's going to happen - or at least some of what's going to happen - when I go to church on Sunday. C.S. Lewis talked about how humans thrive on a combination of variety and stability. We enjoy the change of the seasons each year, but we also enjoy that it's the same seasons every year. I like it when summer cools to autumn, but part of what I like is how familiar that change is.

Familiarity doesn't breed contempt, in my experience. What it breeds is comfort. (What that "fort" in the word comfort tells you is that comfort is actually about strength. Gives a new twist to thinking of the Holy Spirit as the Comforter, eh?) I like slipping into the rhythm of the service, going from the Gloria to the Creed to the Lord's Prayer. But I also like that there's a different collect every Sunday. And that, then again, there's always a collect.


So I've been working on providing a similar rhythm to my childrens' days. One of the things that works well is having a bedtime routine: we change diapers, put on jammies, brush teeth, read a Bible story, sing and pray. My husband and I start our kids' bedtime routine together, but somewhere after brushing teeth, we split off, and I take my son the way of milk, and Adam takes our daughter the way of Jesus-loves-me-this-I-know.

So I get in on the song-and-sleep thing earlier in the day: at naptime. Before Bess' nap, I ask her what songs she wants to sing. Sometimes the answer is "The Wheels on the Bus" and sometimes it's "A Boy Named David" and sometimes it's "nothing". But whether we sing other songs first or not, I always hold her and sing "The Lord Bless You and Keep You" before I put her down in her bed. It's like saying the Creed every Sunday in Church, even though the scripture readings change from week to week.


What about you? Anyone out there have some good bedtime or naptime routines you'd be willing to share?

peace of Christ to you,
Jessica