Because God Does Have A Sense of Humor After All

DH being temporarily unavailable yesterday meant that I got to take the kids to the vigil mass by myself. (Yes, he was going to be temporarily unavailable today, too...)

Grimacing, (because I am all about extra penance) I geared the kids up mentally for this wondrous act of suffering feast day celebration.

I combed hair, inspected outfits, made some minor changes, glanced in the mirror, and off we went. Before leaving, I secured some mass-help from a friend who has 6 of her own kids, and figured we could use the divide-and-conquer strategy if either one of us had meltdown in the pew.

Um. of course, I meant if either one of our children had a meltdown in the pew.

Of course.

Anyhoo... being a bit uptight, I arrived 15 minutes early and got a prime spot near the back of the church, on the right hand side. And then watched in horror as my saving grace made her way to the opposite side of church with her 6 kiddos.

Huh, I thought. What is up with that?

Well, I soon found out, in the form of Mr. Quaint and Hard of Hearing usher, who asked most politely if my family and I would take up the gifts, and then pretended to be stone deaf when I tried to whisper my feeble excuse of "having the kids by myself" today....

Right.

We all get to go up and take the gifts together!

Of course. What a smashing idea.

With Sports Fan and Little Dear holding the candles, Action Man holding the wine jug, Little Boo holding the cruet and Little Love her blankie, I gripped the bowl of hosts and we trundled up the aisle.

Now, this is not my regular parish, and since this parish is not as vibrant as ours, the fact that there were children in attendance was quite a novelty. Sometimes that can be a good thing, sometimes not.

Thank goodness... in this case, it was. There were many oohs and ahhs and matronly smiles as we wound our way to the priest. There were a few sighs as we genuflected and then quite a few chuckles as Little Love grabbed my hand, turned me around, and proceeded to genuflect to me.

I know I was as red as a beet, but I was proud of my kids. These shy little ones were able to rise above their discomfort, and "help the priest" as I told them. They saw the need, and they delivered, and did so with grace.

What a simple witness.

:)