11/29/2021
A reminder to focus only on your littles, and keep your eyes on Him.💜
To the mom who was sitting next to me at Mass with that my-life-is-chaos-and-you-clearly-have-it-all-together look. You glanced my way and then looked down as your happy toddler screeched something hilarious and tried to run down the aisle. You didn’t see me smile.
I get you. I am you. On this particular day, though, it’s deceptive since I left my husband home with two sick kids. I sit with the older one, an 8-year-old who does (pretty much) what he’s supposed to at Mass. But most Sundays we are the family sitting in the front pew (yes, the VERY front – I’m a glutton for punishment). And we are an entertaining spectacle. I have come to accept that.
So I get your stress. But please remember: You showed up, girl. That in and of itself is award-worthy. I know what it took for you to get the whole dang family out the door. Clothes. A quick breakfast on the run that, if you’re lucky, one of them ate. Kids’ hair (and really, that is optional, don’t you think?). And if your husband is anything like mine, you yell to him to tackle a priority task – say, finding the envelope for Mass and writing a check ASAP. He acknowledges that he’s going to do it RIGHT NOW. Then, as you finish every other task and nudge the kids through the kitchen and into the mudroom (and you think “We are almost there! The van door is open – just get their shoes on them and...”), you turn to see hubby doing something so non-priority your head nearly explodes. Like going through that pile of kids’ school artwork that has been on the counter for, hmmm, more than a week?
Yeah, it’s like running three marathons before you ever get to the church parking lot. I get it. Oh, do I.
I recently read something by the mom who said she was yelled at by a fellow parishioner because her young kids were not behaving. This has been gnawing at me. It makes me angry to think anyone would berate a parent for bringing their children to Mass. I trust it’s an aberration.
Bring the kids. Every last one of them. It doesn’t matter if they are too young to understand and all they want to do it fling crayons over your shoulder at the folks behind. Or if they escape your clutches and go tearing down the long aisle screaming, “Shazam!” Bring them anyway.
Here’s why: Everyone wants you all to be there. You. Your husband. Little Shazam. And as difficult as I know it is to keep from slouching down and wishing the Mass would just move FASTER... or perhaps quickly calculating how you could pack up the fam and slink out unnoticed... Remember it is one Mass, and one hour, and one miniscule point in time. And laugh. On days when my head is where it should be, I laugh. And my husband laughs. And sometimes I can’t stop that I’m-6-again-and-I-can’t stifle-the-giggles impulse. And that’s fine. Because it’s flippin’ funny. (OK, sometimes it’s not. And I admit, those Masses are not entirely enjoyable.) You’re doing what God wants you to do. You are showing up. And being that role model for your kiddos. It’s not easy. But in the end, the little ones will get it. They’ll learn as they go. And they’ll grow into their Faith. They’ll come to appreciate the Mass. I have no doubt. And you will see the difference it makes in their lives.
Show up, my friend. And trust that we are all rallying around you. See you at Mass.
