Cry Room Chronicles X

For the past three Sundays (since the last Cry Room Chronicle), we've varied up the Sunday worship routine.

Back on August 8, we were up in Boston for the Catholic New Media Celebration. Boston is also the home of Leslie, maid of honor at our wedding four years ago. Sunday morning we joined her at Saint Ignatius of Loyola, a very beautiful church near Boston College. Lots of wood carving, good stained glass, etc. adorn this church. The vestibule is separated off from the rest of the church by wooden doors that were open throughout the service. When the inevitable came and Jacob had to wander around, we could still hear the Mass. I'm sure people inside could have heard us but Jacob is getting better at whispering in church. On the other hand, Lucy started practicing her vowels, at first whispering, "Eee ahh, eee ahh." She slowly gained confidence and increased her volume slightly each time. Angie had a hard time deciding when to take her out. We wound up drifting in and out during Mass, mentally and physically. In spite of the kids' shenanigans, we had a good time at church and seeing Leslie.

Last week (August 15) we went to the Saturday vigil at 4 p.m. at St. Louis. The children woke up early from their naps and we had Sunday morning plans, so it seemed like a good plan. Uncle Brian (godfather to Lucy) was a lector for the second reading. When Jacob heard him talking through the TV, Angie asked who it was. Jacob shouted, "Uncle Brian!" and smiled. After Mass we got to see Brian and Teresa along with friends Kevin and Amanda, who happened to be volunteers at the blood drive I went to that day. Sunday morning plans were a bust since the kids were a little under the weather the next day.

Today (August 22) we again did not go to the usual 8 a.m. Mass. Lucy slept until about 7:30, which made it extremely tight to get her fed and to church. As a result, we decided to attend 9:30 Mass. Thinking we had plenty of time, we dawdled at the house and wound up late getting to Mass. Another dad (or maybe grandpa?) was in the children's chapel with a boy and a girl. Later, a mom and dad arrived with a boy who seemed just a little younger than Jacob. He and Jacob did a lot of wandering around the room. Occasionally they'd be interested in the same item, but luckily parents were there to defuse the situation before it became critical. Also Jacob pretended to push buttons on the ethernet outlet in the room. The outlet cover had no buttons; this did not deter Jacob. He was so distracted he almost missed his chance to put money in the collection basket. Jacob hardly ever gets to do that at 8 a.m. Mass because the usher doesn't come through the children's chapel. He clued in just as the usher was leaving. I handed Jacob a dollar and he stopped the usher just before he left. Jacob gave his usual fist-clenching bow of excitement after his success. After communion, we stayed upstairs so Jacob could watch the musicians and choir. He truly was in awe.

Hopefully next week we'll be back to the regular Mass time, but you never know what will happen.