Going to bed hungry

I've been consistent with my commitment to fasting one day a week throughout 2009. Although, last Monday I was deathly sick and accepted the grace of chicken noodle soup at 9 PM.

With my newborn's need for every two hours of feeding, changing, burping my sleep hours are all screwed up. Usually one of us stays up till after midnight to feed Dawson. Although last night was a wonderful exception, he's usually most awake from about 10PM - 2 AM.

So I'm sitting up on the nights of my fasts, wondering whether I should eat since it's technically the next morning. The pull is strong, let me tell you. But really, fasting is a mental discipline more than anything, so I've set myself a boundary to stay true to the fast. My guideline is to go to bed hungry. Even if I wake up a couple hours later and have some breakfast (as I did at 3 this morning), I've got to fall asleep the first time with an empty stomach. My hope is that this becomes an act of solidarity, connecting me to those all across the world who go to bed hungry every night, though by no choice of their own.