VENTING TIME! Be forewarned. If you don't want to read my ramblings, then please come back another time when I'm in a better mood. For those who enjoy reading rantings and/or want to offer any words of comfort or advice, I invite you to read on.
I'm going to assume you are familiar with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. If not, then suffice it to say that we have a 3-hour block of meetings on Sunday, and this year our ward (congregation) meets from 1pm-4pm. I used to love having church at 1pm. It meant we could sleep in, have a leisurely morning, take our time getting ready, and all that fun stuff. But since our ward now meets at 1pm and we have to deal with a 2-year-old, I've begun to re-think my preference. I now cannot wait until next year when we should be meeting at 9am. I think most of you know exactly what I'm talking about.
This is the problem: during the week, Joshua takes his nap from around 1-3pm. It's hard enough to try to keep him busy and quiet while still trying to pay some attention to the talks during sacrament meeting, but to try to do it when he's tired and cranky is 10 times worse. And now that he's talking more, he asks for milk, Mommy, or a number of other things over and over and over. He jumps all over the place, crawls under the benches, and throws the hymnbooks around. We bring books, which he'll look at for all of 5 minutes, and then cast them aside. I don't like pumping him full of milk and snacks the whole hour, but sometimes nothing else works. Nursery time can't come fast enough.
Today was especially difficult. Joshua was being really noisy, and usually the people around us are pretty good-natured about it because they can see we're trying the best we can to keep him quiet. I got a little upset today when a woman in the row behind us today thought it would be a good idea to "shush" Joshua. That really irked me! Couldn't she see that I had been trying to keep him entertained for the past hour already? Why did she think that her "sshh!" would make him calm down, when I'd been doing that off and on for the entire meeting? It made me even more flustered, and I soon after that took Joshua out to the foyer as he proceeded to throw the mother of all tantrums. Ai, ai...
Anyway, I really understand now what our home teacher said when we first got married: make sure you have a testimony before you have kids, because once you have them, your ability to pay attention in meetings basically goes down the drain. He's totally right. I love Joshua, I really do. I just wish he were a little less rambunctious, and I really hope we're able to have a calm sacrament meeting at least once this year...
7 years ago
8 comments:
I totally feel you , sister! I'm so sorry. I can see that coming for us, too. I cannot wait for nursery because Reece is a little devil for all three hours and without fail one of us has to miss every meeting every week. Very inappropriate of that lady to "shh" you. Not her place. It seems like every person who doesn't have kids seems to think they can raise your kids better than you. You're doing a great job!
(((HUGS))) and more (((HUGS))) I've totally been there. When Anna was two years old, I spent most Sacrament meetings out in the hall.
Tyler & I actually decided that if our kids were acting up that we wouldn't stay in the chapel, because it bothered us when we couldn't hear because of other loud children. Of course, you make your own decision on how you want to handle that. :)
As for the other lady "shushing" your boy - I would be livid, too. People have SOME nerve doing things like that. I think you're an amazing mom. I hope this year goes by FAST so you can switch to another time!
p.s. Anna quit napping on her 2nd birthday - so be grateful that Joshua still naps AT ALL!!!
I'm in agreement with the other comments here that "shush" was totally uncalled for. You probably handled it much more graciously than I would have. I hope I never have to deal with 1pm church with a little one - you're a strong woman for taking it on :D
First of all, LUCKY YOU that he still takes naps! :)
Next, I still think the worst thing ever is the "pre-nursery stage." Then there is NO relief. Oh, how we love nursery!
I think I'm the only one who likes it when people try to mother my kids for me in meetings! It just makes me smile, even if I'm thinking "just YOU try to raise him" at the same time. Because usually, people mean well, you know? But I used to get offended too, so I know how that must have felt. The truth is, sometimes my kids listen better to someone other than me; sometimes I go to church to amuse my neighbors instead of having an amazing spiritual experience; and sometimes it takes a LOT of patience to see results. But some day, he will learn why he's there and how to act (FHE is a great time to practice!)...and he'll see your example of patience and reverence and it will all be worth it.
I know you are an awesome mom, Carina! And I know you want to feel the spirit instead of frustration (who doesn't?). It's going to be okay. And maybe he'll grow out of needing naps just one day a week as the year progresses...one can hope!
Empathy. Total empathy. I have turned to Scott in the middle of Sacrament meeting before and just said, "This meeting isn't drawing me closer to Christ. It's kind of dragging me further away." After all, (1) I can't concentrate on any of the speakers -- I'm lucky if I even get the topic; (2) I'm getting annoyed and frustrated with my daughter; (3) She's getting annoyed and frustrated with me; (4) All I can think about is what others are thinking (even when they haven't said anything), which makes me mad at them for merely sitting nearby, and (5) Based off of number 4, you can tell I'm slowly losing my grip on reality.
She's surprisingly more content now that we're in the family ward, and I'd say things have improved 100% (meaning she's twice as good as she used to be -- but still nowhere near angelic) but I can tell it's just temporary. Bummer.
Sorry you have to go through this right now. For some reason they always put you in a 1pm ward six months after having a baby! That gives you one year of sheer horror in Sacrament Meeting before the years of bliss kick in and the kid spends the last two hours in nursery or primary. Hope is on the horizon though. It gets better once his attention span lengthens and he can be entertained by toys or coloring books for an extended period. I also resort to cereal (Cheerios or Kix) when all else fails. At least it's a healthy snack. Good luck!!
P.S. Depending upon who shushed my kid, I'd be peeved too! That's why we tend to sit in the back of the chapel behind another noisy family! :-)
What can I say more??? Your friends are full of good words of wisdom, Carina. At least you only wrestle for Sac. Mtg., since he's in nursery during the other two. I guess we could be grateful for that? As for the shushing, I liked Laurel's comments. But I agree, that lady could have done something MORE helpful........like catching his eye and flirting with him, yes? He likes that. :)
I'm sorry =( I hope he learns to calm down a bit! Crazy kid...can't wait until I have one (or more) who does the same thing in Sacrament Meeting! Eeeks.
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