A Christian Attitude
It was very difficult to keep a good one this morning at mass. H was being very very good. And pretty much adorable as ever. She likes to flip through the missalette, and now that she's talking more she turns the pages saying "book" and today "jesus song". Well the music pages started as "elmo song" but I told her at Church we sing Jesus's songs so after a few tries she adjusted :).
She was babbling pretty much the whole time but it wasn't loud, or screaming, or crying. She was just being a toddler. When she wasn't looking at the book, she was putting her hands together saying "amen" over and over. But the people in front of us were annoyed and not afraid to show it.
The last straw occurred when she noticed a wadded up tissue under their chairs. She was saying "uh-oh. trash" to me. The guy turned around and shushed her. She's 1 for pete's sake! We were working on it, and her volume was pretty low. They could only hear her because they were right in front of her.
It made me really angry. And I don't like feeling that way at mass. The one time during the week when being a good & forgiving person should be the easiest. I know older people who believe small children shouldn't be at mass at all, but it's important to us as a family to worship together. "The family that prays together stays together" as they say. And how are we supposed to raise our children in faith and lead by example if they aren't exposed to it until they're old enough to listen?
Both T & I were very irritated, but we tried not to talk about it as to not dwell on it. But for me, if I don't have some sort of release, it just builds in me and then I'm all fired up at something that's blown way out of proportion. I just needed to write this for my own catharsis, and also to put it into perspective. That group was trying to worship in their own way. If I need them to be flexible that my toddler won't sit 100% still & quiet for an hour, then I also need to be understanding that she might be distracting to some people.
She was babbling pretty much the whole time but it wasn't loud, or screaming, or crying. She was just being a toddler. When she wasn't looking at the book, she was putting her hands together saying "amen" over and over. But the people in front of us were annoyed and not afraid to show it.
The last straw occurred when she noticed a wadded up tissue under their chairs. She was saying "uh-oh. trash" to me. The guy turned around and shushed her. She's 1 for pete's sake! We were working on it, and her volume was pretty low. They could only hear her because they were right in front of her.
It made me really angry. And I don't like feeling that way at mass. The one time during the week when being a good & forgiving person should be the easiest. I know older people who believe small children shouldn't be at mass at all, but it's important to us as a family to worship together. "The family that prays together stays together" as they say. And how are we supposed to raise our children in faith and lead by example if they aren't exposed to it until they're old enough to listen?
Both T & I were very irritated, but we tried not to talk about it as to not dwell on it. But for me, if I don't have some sort of release, it just builds in me and then I'm all fired up at something that's blown way out of proportion. I just needed to write this for my own catharsis, and also to put it into perspective. That group was trying to worship in their own way. If I need them to be flexible that my toddler won't sit 100% still & quiet for an hour, then I also need to be understanding that she might be distracting to some people.
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