Sunday

I wish I could say I was one of those people who look forward to Sunday. A day to go to church, worship with a community and get refreshed and ready for the week to come. Not so much around here. Sunday for me starts crazy and uses up most of my energy by 9:00am. I know other people with children probably feel the same way. Get the kids ready, keep them clean and then get them all to church looking like the Norman Rockwell family that we are not. Here is our big strike-out every single week:

Strike 1: Get there on-time. We do manage to do this most of the time. However, Sunday is the one day of the week that I usually have to wake the kids up. If you're a parent, you know that that is basically strikes 2 and 3 right there. No child is fully cooperative when you wake them up before they are ready. Then everyone needs to eat and get dressed. Not an easy task when we have to be there by 8:00.

Strike 2: Keep them quiet. Go ahead, laugh now. It's easier than facing the reality. My kids are 5, 2 and 7 months. Quiet is not an option. And to make this all that much harder, we not only don't have a nursery option, but we also don't even have a standard Catholic Crying Room. Our priest would rather the kids stay with the congregation. REALLY?!?!? So much for anyone hearing what he's saying. Today I actually gave Evan my phone to play a game on in desperate hope that he would play quietly. The upside is that he did stay in one place, but he also cheered for himself. Loudly.

Strike 3: Keep them still. Obviously if I can't keep them quiet, I certainly can't keep them still. As a result, it isn't all that unusual to have a bumped head or one child pinching the other with all their might. Which results in retaliation and inevitably someone crying. Loudly.

By the time it's all over I am anything but refreshed. I am simply thankful that it is all over. I'm sure God understands, but what about those people around us who would actually like to hear? I'm told that they wouldn't sit near us if it bothered them. I have a faint faith that that is true. I don't mean to imply that my kids are overly troublesome in life. They really aren't. They are just bored sitting in one spot and listening to lots of talking that doesn't make any sense to them. I would be too.

Maybe it should be more than a sip of wine at the end. Oh wait, our church doesn't do wine anymore either.

I think I just struck out looking.

Happy Sunday!