Sunday's are always interesting for me. It is a gamble going into Sacrament meeting as to whether the kids will behave or not. I never know quite where to sit... in the back... in case I need to make a quick getaway, or the front where there may be some semblance of respect out of propriety. I generally pick somewhere in the middle, attempting to casually blend in with the families with other small children. Silently hoping that the family of 5 in front of me will outscream my children that day.
I usually try to pick a good order to sit the kids in too. These are things that are mandatory for a good flowing sacrament meeting. Any slightest variance in arrangement can create confusion during the passing of the sacrament.
We were running behind today and I did not take the time to structure the children and myself as I should have.
It all started when they confirmed a little boy a member today. I love confimations. I think they really bring the spirit close... so I was intently listening.... with my eyes closed. This of course is generally the proper thing to do. What I didn't remember is that I have a 3 yr. old son who is a practicing escape artist. By the time the confirmation was over... Eli was gone. I of course, thought he was just playing quietly with his thomas the tank engine toy underneath the pew. I did not notice he had vanished until towards the end of the sacrament song. There I was, leaning far under the pew trying to see where he made off to when I heard snickering behind me. The sister gently tapped me on the shoulder and directed me across the aisle and up three pews. I couldn't see him.... but I could hear him!
I convinced Sophie it was okay to stay put and casually sauntered... okay... I quickly sneaked, to Eli's pew. He was laying on the floor quickly devouring a stash of coco puffs that he had found from the pews previous tenants. I picked him up and carried him back trying to keep from laughing outloud.
Next, was sacrament. Usually I try to arrange the children in a manner that will make passing the sacrament easy. Sophie is obviously too young to pass the water tray because it is too heavy, as is Eli. I have to keep an eye on Isaac when the bread comes around because he will try to take more than one piece. I try to have the order be Isaac, Eli, Me, Sophie, Seth. Today the order was Isaac, Me, Seth,Sophie, Eli. Of course I noticed it at the last minute and I quickly told Seth to scoot past Eli and Sophie to get the bread that was headed down our pew. It took a minute for Seth to register what he needed to do. He quietly stood up, passed the two littles and sat down. By the time he had done this, the little girl that was sitting next to us had passed the bread to Sophie as Seth was passing. Seth sat down to see that the bread had already passed him and was sitting in my hands. The forlorn look on his face was too much to bare. I grabbed a piece of bread for him and placed it into his hand and got the rest of the kids theirs as quickly as possible. I snickered the rest of my way through sacrament meeting. I might possibly have saved myself a seat in hell for this one today!
Hearing about your suffering during sacrament meeting is very comforting- i have often wondered what kind of church commands us to have children and then also has sacrament meeting for the entire family!! Just kidding!! If you were in our ward, you should definitely sit by us, because our kids would outscream yours.
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