Tired but still going

It’s the end of May, and we all have spring fever.

One day this week I simply could not get one of our boys to wake up for school. He was sleeping so soundly that I finally emailed the teacher and said he was tired and would be late. She replied with a perfectly pleasant note. If anyone’s tired, it’s probably our teachers—teaching in person and virtually at the same time. Eventually, our son woke up, and I made sure he was logged on and virtually present for the rest of the day.

We tried to go to bed earlier last night, and we talked about how a “sleeping in” excuse can’t happen every morning. So, this morning, about an hour before school will start, he stumbled out of the bedroom, wrapped in his comforter, and his eyes barely open.

“Still tired,” he said. “But up.”

Still tired, but up. It’s a mantra for today and yesterday and tomorrow and so many other days. Even the best days can be tiring. And sometimes you wake up wondering where the night went—and how long it is until Friday or our summer vacation or that day when we can finally hug someone we miss.

Whatever the morning brings, we continue to move forward, one foot in front of the other.

Still tired, but up. Because many days all we can do is get up and keep going. And that’s really all God asks of us—to accept each day as we are, as we can, and do His work as it comes our way.

“If you are pleased with what you are, you have stopped already,” St. Augustine tells us. “If you say, ‘It is enough,’ you are lost. Keep on walking, moving forward, trying for the goal.”

So, we open our eyes, thank God for the day, and get up and get going. We might be tired, but we’ve been given the gift of another day. And, with His grace, we’re up for whatever the day might bring.

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