Well, we tried. :).
I didn't especially "feel" like taking Jack and Thomas to Ash Wed. Mass by myself today, but I got over myself and decided that I really should go -- especially because Jack has been asking questions about Lent and Easter. Also, today is a day of penance, so I figured taking the kids by myself would probably be good for that.
And ... it was. I am sure we received some graces for having lasted 27 minutes worth of Mass, but we certainly didn't receive any ashes or Eucharist :). I don't think the boys have EVER been this wild at Mass. We started out in the main church, but just as the processional song was cueing up, Thomas started bawling loudly for no reason. I do think he was a little upset that David wasn't with us (he kept asking "Daddy go?" (as in "Where did Daddy go")), so maybe that set him off.
Anyway, I whisked both boys off to the Mother's Room and set up camp there. One little boy and his mom were in there, but otherwise it was empty. Jack and Thomas were good for about 5 minutes, and then they started squealing, running cirles around the room (literally!), shrieking, etc. I did not have enough hands to contain them! I tried speaking very calmly and sternly to get Jack to stop running and screaming, but he wouldn't calm down. I tried holding him on my lap (I targeted Jack primarily because Thomas was feeding off of Jack's craziness), but he bucked and squirmed and started making a really loud and annoying humming noise. I could not make him stop! So, I packed up and left Mass early. :(. I felt terrible, but I didn't know what else to do! I couldn't handle them in there anymore, and we had 45 minutes of mass left to go.
When we got home, I had Jack do Mass Practice. He had to sit quietly, bottom down, in a chair for 5 minutes. If he talked or wasn't sitting nicely, I added 1 more minute. He was in the chair for probably 15 minutes total. I like the idea of Mass Practice (if you can't sit still and be quiet at Mass, then we'll take time at home to practice until you can), but I don't know how much it really sunk in.
Anyway, I'm not sure what I'll do if/when I have to take 2 (or 3!) boys to mass by myself again!
2 comments:
Poor Beetah!!
Don't worry! In the future, you can call upon Aunt Wheetah and we can take our troops to Mass together. True, it will be adding one more child to the mix, but at least it would be adding one more adult to the mix too!
Do we have a date for the 6 of us for Ash Wednesday 2009?
Test!
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