Kid Running In Church

Yup, you guessed it...it was MY kid running in church. Now this is the youngest of my two kids, my little 2-yr old boy. My husband is helping out with a men's group, so he and the other guys sat in a certain section at church, we sat in a different section but where we could still see my husband.

Now I know my son is going to goof off because La Ley ("the law" in Spanish), aka Daddy, isn't around. That's just how this is going to go down. It always does when La Ley has to go to the bathroom, wants to wait in line for confession, or run and grab his Bible from the truck. My son won't listen to me! He totally goofs off even when he sits with me and La Ley is sitting on the other side of my daughter. My little boy squirms around, makes his body go limp so he can slide off my lap and down to the floor. If I try to stop him, he will start turning as he slides down, it's his corkscrew maneuver to get out of my grip! He wants to climb on top of the pew (when it's lifted up out of the way, so if you have a kid standing on it it could fall down into the kneeling position, problem is, if the congregation is standing, it will take out your shins on the way down and then what you yell out in pain is unlikely to be a joyful noise upon the ears of Lord!). Somehow my husband is oblivious to his action even though it's just our 6-yr-old daughter sitting between us (maybe he's paying attention to all of the Bible readings we have during mass, I don't know) so I'll have to be all whispering, "hey" and head motion to our squirmy wormy who is half on the pew, half legs in the air, belly showing because his shirt is all messed up from his corkscrew-to-the-floor technique and a sly smile on his face. La Ley looks over at Squirmy Wormy. Does La Ley raise his voice and scold? Does La Ley snatch him up and take him outside in a cloud of thunder and lightning? NO! In a regular tone, nice and calm, La Ley says, "Little Boy, come here," and what does Squirmy Wormy do? Stands up and walks over. La Ley sits Squirmy Wormy on his lap and directs his attention back to the Scriptures that are being read aloud to the congregation. WHAT?? After all of my repeatedly whispered come here and no-saying...

So back to today...my husband is with the men and it's me and the kids...and I'm knowing how this is going to go...To make things worse, my mom is visiting. Now if you don't have kids, you might think, "what's so bad about that?" Nothing, we love having my mom visit! My little boy is so in love with her he doesn't let her out of his sight! but if he goofs off with Mama, you can bet he goofs off even more with Mima! It's like her + I double his goofying off powers and with La Ley sitting far away...forget about it! The church is his oyster!

Lately he's been learning how to genuflect, kneeling on one knee in reverence to the Lord, before going to sit in the pew and when you leave the pew. It is so cute to see him try this, and he LOVES it! Anyway, Squirmy Wormy is sneaking away from me, slightly in the aisle trying to genuflect (bending over touching the floor with both hands), smiling at me the whole time, and then takes off! My kid RUNNING IN CHURCH as fast as his little 2-yr-old legs can go towards the altar. Did I mention we are in the first row of our section? So we aren't far from the altar or from the sight of the congregation. I jump up and hustle after him. I caught him just before reaching the steps that go up onto the altar! MAMA FOR THE WIN!

Squirmy Wormy continues to when we get back to the pew. Why isn't my husband looking over here to occasionally throw looks of La Ley to Squirmy Wormy??? Doesn't he know to do this to help a motha out???  Did I mention all of this was at the BEGINNING of church? Mima and I are in trouble...so I take Squirmy Wormy to the children's cry room. There's usually some tiny toddler running up and down the short aisle (from what I remember, it's been years since I've been in the cry room) but not today. My little boy starts crying for his Mima, but I told him he lost that privilege. He is usually sitting nicely with La Ley every Sunday, and he has never been in the cry room. I think he realizes he's in a new land and starts using his techniques to get out of my arms. What happens next? You guessed it: my kid running in church...again! We are confined to the cry room, but he starts circling the section of pews in there, having to walk in front of the people in the front row that are close to the window/glass that allows us to see inside the main church. I hope he doesn't spot Mima because he will start crying out for her...I can see her from here pretty well. He goes in circles, again and again. I crouch down to pick him up as he approaches me but he thinks this is even more fun, cries out in glee with a big smile and turns in the other direction...smh...

I do my best to focus on the readings and homily/preaching. I'm thankful Squirmy Wormy doesn't really fun that fast, except when he made one of his laps he brought back someone's Mickey Mouse stuffed animal. And so it went...

You might think, why even go? My friend, the devil tempted me with this thought, too. But no! If La Ley can't sit with us, I'll put up with the cry room. Those parents understand, because you never know when it will be your kid's turn to be the rowdy one, and we can all sympathize with one another. And if it's that bad, we will get a babysitter - yes, just to attend church - because our Lord is just as important as any other event you might hire a babysitter for. When my daughter was this age, we used to leave her with my sister-in-law from time to time to go to mass without her (she would be way more rowdy in the cry room than in the pews, following the lead of the other designated kid running in church). My husband and I would even take turns going to mass, separately to a different service while the other stayed at home with the Squirmy Wormy, be it my daughter when she was 2 and even now with our son, but lately we've been going again as a family.

My kid running in church wasn't too bad, actually, since it was mainly in the cry room, but I had to remind myself that this stage will pass. All parents go through it. I like taking my son to church with us because he has a love for Jesus, Mary and the angels that is innate. Every time he sees an image of them, he blows a kiss to them. When the cross is being carried in and out of the church, he watches and follows the cross intently. I can't explain it. He says "Jesus" as best he can and points to the cross, and blows a kiss. My heart is full 🙂

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