I sat next to my 8 year old grandson Jerred last Sunday. I sit toward the middle of the pew (and you know I had to google "pew" to find out where it came from) with the children to my left (not an unimportant factoid).
Within moments Jerred had sprouted a clone from somewhere behind us. They knelt quietly playing with action figures shaped much like the monsters in my dreams following Indian Cuisine.
After singing, praying and the sacrament I noted that two more clones were appearing from below the pew in front of us. Soon there were four little boys fully engaged in saving the Earth below and to my left. Occasionally I would lean over and whisper to them to use their whisper voices and they would quiet down nicely.
Then sweet little J peeked over the top of the pew and I could see that he wanted to join in. I think he would have fit right in but at the critical moment he chose to stay with Mom, Dad, Grandma and sister.
We made sure that we sat reverently while we sang the hymns, prayed and received the sacrament. During preaching time we saved the world. I know my Amanda says that at 8 it's time to put the toys away. Emily thinks it's a little older. I think...well I didn't have any sons so I have no idea what to do except...
...when you take children to church make sure that they sit on your left side. Unless of course you've lost your hearing in your right ear. Then have them sit on your right side. I enjoyed the speakers and didn't hear a peep out of the boys.
I used the same technique as a bishop when I was told the stake presidency didn't want to see any food in the chapel during sacrament meeting. Recognizing how important Cheerios were to my children as well as Elder Ballards I let it be known that "I also didn't want to see any food in the chapel so if you have it, keep it out of sight." Then I didn't look.
Sometimes there are stripes that are worth taking.
4 comments:
I LOVED having a Bishop with this attitude. Seriously... it was as if you lifted a ton of bricks off my shoulders the day you told me "I don't want to SEE any food in the chapel...so keep it out of my sight." I have enjoyed Sacrament meeting much more since then. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
PS--I always check my area for dropped Cheerious before I leave the Chapel, too.
Food in sacrament meeting. A necessary evil that makes more evil. It is a hard one. We don't bring food to church. It is a struggle, but we get by. If I forget to feed the kids or something, I feed them in the halls. Here's why...even if I did bring food, it would be raisins or something not loud or potentially crumbled, and no matter what routine snack I brought, my kids are always more interested in the exciting food, ie: fruit snacks, and goldfish brought by anyone else. So my problem is that my kids are fine without the food until someone whose kids who aren't fine without the food get the food out. That is when my kids look like scavengers as they will go after any and all options being presented to the other children in their eyesight. Hence, the food bringing folk who make peace with their kids by bringing food, actually take my peace away. I don't judge the food bringers, but I do have strategy to where we sit. There are many families who also don't bring food and I try to keep a layer of those folks on all sides so that my kids can face forward and cuddle us or color or holler and wave at their friends across the room. Certainly, there is no answer...I think that if the "food bringers" could truly keep the food out of sight, we'd have no issue whatsoever.
How can I learn not to be so long winded. It is like there is no abbreviating my thoughts. ALSO...Congrats on your weight loss! I need to start thinking skinny too, obviously! That is a great accomplishment.
Here's my kids-in-church story from last week.
Scout was coloring quietly while the speakers were giving their talks. It was one of those moments of calm that come every once in a while now that all our kids are over the age of 4.
The concluding speaker was a man who began by telling a little bit about himself. He had been an Eagle Scout when he was younger and he told a little bit about his Eagle project.
Whenever Scout hears her name in church she perks up a little to listen better and this time was no different. She stopped coloring and looked up at me with this concerned look on her face. "Why is that man an Evil Scout?"
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