Sing Me to Sleep

I am so grateful that I have been able to stretch this whole "treasure box" business out over three days because when I woke up this morning, the last thing I wanted to do was to write a blog post. But, then I was like:

Oh yeah! My great granddaddy, William, is covering for me today. 

Gosh darn it, I am really beginning to like this fellow!

 It is very fitting too that the title of his poem, which happens to be my favourite and has caused me to tear up a few times (hello . .. pregnancy!), is titled "Sing Me to Sleep" because sleep is all I want to do today. You see, Baby Girl got me hooked on the series "How I Met Your Mother", and I kind of stayed up late last night waiting for Mr. Level-Headed to return home from class and watched like a gazillion episodes. Why did I not know about this series sooner? It is hilarious! Seriously, I am not a huge fan of comedies, but this one had me laughing out loud with tears streaming down my cheeks. I am not kidding! Then, to top it all off, my not-so-little munchkins had woken up yesterday morning at a whomping 5am, which meant my day started way too early. It was also sunny yesterday so I felt like I had to really make the most of it; therefore, we went for huge walk and took the dog swimming. Also, yesterday happened to be one of those oh-wow-I-feel-great-today kind of days and I guess you could say I overdid it. I did school with the boys, which was no small feat since Mr. Man was off in la la land all day, I baked two desserts for a local fundraiser in support of my friend's Relay for Life team (which we sadly can't take part in this year), I made a chili for supper, I cleaned up the house, and then finally, the boys and I went to the chapel to help decorate for a youth dance our church is hosting this weekend. It was a great day! I felt like me again and not zombie mama, but now I am definitely paying for it. So, with my boys still sleeping and this foggy, rainy morning dampening any desire I may have had to take on the day, I will finally present to you William John Ring's "Sing Me to Sleep", and then I will crawl back into my big comfy bed with a warm cup of peppermint tea and I will give my boys, who just happen to be sleeping in my bed, a great big squeeze.

Sing Me to Sleep

by

William John Ring

Sing me to sleep where bullets fall,

Let me forget the war and all.

Damp is my dug out, cold my feet.

Naught but bully beef and biscuit to eat

And shrapnel and shells are a la mode.

Sing me to sleep where bombs explode.

Over the sandbags, helmets you find

Bodies in front of you, bodies behind.

Far, far away from Ypres I long to be

Where German snipers can't get at me.

Think of me crouching where the worms creep,

Waiting for someone to sing me to sleep.

Sing me to sleep in some old shed,

The rats are running around my head.

Stretched out upon my waterproof

Dodging the raindrops through the roof.

Sing me to sleep where camp fires shine,

Sticky with muck but never a whine,

Dreaming of home and nights in the West

Somebody's overseas boots on my chest.

Far from the star shells I long to be.

Lights of old King Street I'd rather see.

Think of me crouching where the worms creep,

Waiting for someone to sing me to sleep.

Spending this week poring over my great grandfather's treasures has strengthened my belief that families are indeed the greatest treasures we have. It is humbling to think that the actions of a man I barely knew, who lived one hundred years ago and who was in such close proximity to death for five years of his young life, played an important role in creating me. Without him or any one of the members of my family, "I", as I look and act today, would not exist. Think about it. Every single member of your family (and I am talking about over thousands of years), every choice they made, and every action they took, in some way helped shaped who you are today.Wow! I am so grateful for my family, and I am grateful for all their stories and their treasures that have managed to trickle down into my possession and have helped me to better understand who I am and to better appreciate what an amazing legacy we are all creating together. It may not be a legacy of fame, wealth or power, but it is a legacy of people, people leading seemingly "ordinary" lives with extraordinary eternal significance. Families are forever, and I am so grateful to be a part of this one.