Good Morning!

I wish every morning was like this. Up, showered, hair dried, face on, both kids fed, one of them napping, kitchen clean, bed made and sitting back chilling drinking java. By 7:30. This is such a rarity but man it feels good when it happens. It's like winning the lottery. OK not quite winning the lottery. But a similar feeling, one might imagine. Maybe it's just the happy crazy pills. I feel like doing a pirouette.

So my Lentil this year is to go to church every week and so far, for three weeks running, I've done it. I'm trying to teach Poops how to attend church quietly, which as you might imagine with a one (almost two) year old is quite the challenge. The first week was a disaster. Poops was wild and mini-Poops was letting out shrieks of hunger that sounded like we've never fed him before in his life. We had to leave before communion. Second week was better. We went to the Teen Life mass, the one where the band rocks out to Jesus. We sat near the band and Poops yelled, "Yayyyy!" and clapped every time the band ended a song (even after the Hallelujahs). He did really well, though. He learned how to do "praying hands" (which looks a little like 'washing hands' because he doesn't really keep them still) and he learned that when we're reading and the man on stage is talking, we have to be quiet because everyone wants to listen. Last night, he forgot some of this near the end of mass, but to his credit, the mass was extra long because we met all the people who will be making their confirmations at Easter. We made it exactly to communion but had to flee immediately after.

My very favorite moment of the whole mass was the first 20 minutes when he sat next to me in the pew with his hands folded, quietly, taking it all in and looking like he really understood what was being said. I put my arm around him and I closed my eyes for a minute and relished this moment, just me and my little son. I realized at that moment that he is depending on me, his mom, to help him down the road of life with all its bumps and turns. Me and him. On the road of life. Together. Then I got scared because I realized what a tall order that is, (what if I don't do it right? What if he ends up hating me? What if he needs therapy after the terrible botch job I did? What if I forget to teach him something, like manners or math or how to respect women?) But I looked at that intent little face with that little head that was soaking in this experience and an overwhelming wave of love washed over me and thought about how utterly honored I am that someone picked me to do this. Me. Yup. I'm up for it.

Good Morning!

https://babytealeaves.blogspot.com/2008/02/good-morning.html