We were up early again and made it to the 8 a.m. Mass just in time. We headed straight to the pews in front of the organist with a minute to spare. After 45 seconds, Lucy asked to light a candle. The opening announcements were already starting, so I told her that we'd light one after Mass, forgetting the usual stipulation that she be good during Mass.
Things were going smoothly until Jacob realized that he hadn't gone potty yet (attentive readers were sure to notice the omission). So he headed off with Mommy. Lucy came along too. I had plenty of quiet time as the readings were read. They returned during the gospel.
As the homily went on and on, Lucy became more and more chatty. Eventually she refused to whisper and I had to take her out. First, we went to the vestibule, where we saw our friends James and Colin and their parents and infant brother. That didn't last long as Lucy asked to continue the journey. Second, we went to the children's chapel. We turned on the lights and the TV and I heard the last few sentences of the homily. Eventually, Lucy got bored and wanted to see Mommy, who was still upstairs with the nicely docile Jacob. So we turned off the lights and the TV and headed upstairs.
Lucy was still being pretty noisy, so we stayed in the vestibule of the church till Communion time. Lucy was pretty well behaved if not quiet. She tried to pull some books from the book rack but they wouldn't come. A small bar kept the books from falling off the shelf. Lucy didn't know to lift the books up and over the bar before pulling them out. Since it kept her occupied, I didn't explain to her the problem. Is that wrong of me?
The sign of peace came and Lucy was uninterested in shaking my hand. I shook hands with James, Colin, and their parents. James and Colin walked over to Lucy and got her to shake hands. Maybe she knew I could have helped her with the books? Then we headed in for a peaceful communion. We returned to the pew with Mommy and Jacob for the rest of Mass.
After the last song, we lit candles even though Lucy wasn't so well behaved. For the first time, there was a line to light candles! Two other children were in line before us. We waited patiently. I don't know what Lucy prayed for but Jacob prayed for Daddy, which was gratifying. Of course, at first he wanted to pray for candles. We told him to pray for someone, not something. So he chose me. We saw special Bryan on the way out and eventually played on the playground.
It's hard to believe there's only one Sunday left for us here in the USA. Hopefully I'll get to hear the final homily and not be shushing or chasing Lucy.
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