A New Form of Exercise: To be honest, exercising isn’t one of my strengths! I have a bunch of family members who are into CrossFit and/or other forms of extreme exercising, and while I’m mesmerized by their focus, diligence, and determination to accomplish all that exercising, I also think they’re completely nuts. I’m also fascinated with friends and acquaintances who run marathons or half-marathons. If you ever hear that I ran even a halfmarathon, you’ll know that either I’ve completely lost my mind or that the Kingdom of God has arrived; it would only be then that I’d have the ability to accomplish such a feat.

For some time, I’ve been hearing a lot of talk about sleeping with a weighted blanket. I’ve seen lots of advertising about this latest “sleep aid” and even read many positive articles in several magazines and online posts about the benefits of a weighted blanket. With the concept on my mind and having read various articles, I was growing more and more piqued by the idea. So, when Amazon popped up with a “sale” of sales on weighted blankets, I thought for a minute and decided to splurge on one.

So what is a weighted blanket? The weighted blanket popularity has grown in recent years as a result of its promise to promote better sleep. The blanket is filled with small objects such as pellets, beads of heavy plastic, or glass that give the blanket some weight that “hugs” the user. Now, I don’t have a problem sleeping; once I hit the bed at night I’m out for the duration until my three alarm clocks, the lights and the radio come on (okay, maybe I do need more sleep). So, I wasn’t buying this thing with the hopes of improving my sleep. It was an impulse buy because Amazon was having a “sale.” After all, I saved $45!

After doing some research, I discovered there is a science to buying a weighted blanket. You just don’t go out and get one. The first thing to worry about is getting the correct weight. The professionals say you need to get one that is 10% of your body weight! You then get the size that matches the size of your mattress. So, I did all my research and found the perfect one! I even bought a cover for it (well, it was on “sale” too). When the package finally arrived at the Parish Center, I couldn’t wait to get it home and try it out that night. I was excited by the thought this weighted blanket was going to be the best thing in the world!

Once I got home, I carefully carried the heavy box up to my room. I opened the box like a little kid on Christmas morning opening the present of presents. After unboxing it, I read the simple instructions and then tried to place it on my bed. Well, try flinging a 25-pound blanket on a bed. The blanket flopped like a 25-pound lead balloon. This thing was hard to maneuver. After getting the blanket situated and squarely in place, I thought I was going to need some Icy Hot or something for my arms just having to deal with maneuvering this blanket. This was work! I was growing dubious about my impulse purchase. The real test was going to be when I climbed into bed.

After finishing all my “pre-bed chores,” I climbed into my bed and flipped the blanket back over me. I was already exhausted from just moving this blanket around. I then laid there and stared at the ceiling. “This is insane,” I thought to myself. “I can hardly breathe. I feel like I have a 25-pound weight sitting on my chest.” My second thought was even more on target of how I felt: “Is this what it feels like being stuffed into a casket? This was no “hug” like the studies claimed.” I couldn’t help but laugh. I then realized even my size 17 feet were prisoners. I couldn’t just lay there with my feet pointing to the ceiling either (try pushing a 25-pound weight with your toes). This was going to be some learning experience! I gave it a few days and then started to think about returning it. But to my utter dismay, it was going to cost $35 just to ship back! In the end, I decided to keep it and just get used to it. I wouldn’t say I’m entirely sold on the idea yet, but I’m getting used to the idea of being shoved into my mattress! The upside is that I may have to work out now just so I can get out of bed in the morning! This is going to be work!

Advent Resources: Even though the sights and sounds of Christmas are all around us, we need to remember the beautiful and grace-filled season of Advent. In the midst of all the hustle and bustle, Advent calls us to embrace stillness and quiet as we prepare for the birth of Christ the King.

There are MANY things you can do to help your Advent journey. You can read the reflections in the Little Blue Book from the Diocese of Saginaw or the reflections in The Word Among Us (both of which are available in the Gathering Place bookcase). You could pick up a spiritual book. You could spend time before the Blessed Sacrament. You could attend one of our reconciliation services. You could make it a goal to attend mass more frequently. The options are endless; so are the rewards!

You may also want to consider some of the many excellent online resources that are available. You could get the Magnificat Advent Companion (for iOS, Android, Kindle). Creighton University has a great webpage with links to their advent resources (bit.ly/prayingadvent). The Irish Jesuits have a site that offers an Advent Retreat (sacredspace.ie). The Jesuits in Britain have a resource with audio reflections for every day of the year (pray-as-you-go.org). You can find plenty of Advent reading material and activities for the whole family at AmericanCathholic.org (bit.ly/ AmericanCatholicAdvent) and at ignatianspirituality.com/advent. Franciscan Media has resources at franciscanmedia.org/advent-a-season-ofsurprises. Father Richard Rohr, OFM, has a great daily email meditation too. You can sign up for his Daily Meditations at cac.org. Yes, there are plenty of online resources to help you with your Advent journey; you just have to make the time to stop, pause, and pray!

Enjoy the week. Know of my prayers.

In Christ,

gmb
gmb@sjascs.org