Small children and Sunday
As an assistant restaurant manager, my husband worked most Sundays. His general manager refused to work any Sundays, thinking he was above that. When my husband became a general manager, he refused to put that burden solely on his assistants, saying they deserved to have some Sundays off. He also did National Guard training one weekend a month.
The result for me was: I had several small children to get to church myself. I let my husband take care of his own work clothes and Sunday clothes; I had my own and five other people’s to see to. I am not, by nature, an early riser. Breakfast has to be simple, with negative prep time. Frequently my husband’s contribution was to cook something in the morning. He didn’t know where any of the children’s clothing was (usually in unfolded piles); he was unsure which shoes belonged to whom (their sizes kept changing!). He cleared snow off the van and made sure we had gas in it. He herded people, pretty calmly, and he listened to them.
When I was young, my mother decided we would sit in the front rows at church, because children pay attention better when they have fewer people in front of them. I determined that my family would sit in the second row. At first we all trooped out every time I had to take someone out of the meeting. I spent many, many meetings in the mother’s lounge or out in the hall. My husband and I both determined we would not allow running around in the hall; staying out of church was not a reward for bad behavior. So church was an hour of constant alertness, keeping shenanigans quiet, feeding and changing diapers as needed, and making sure everyone folded their arms for prayers. I encouraged closed eyes during prayer, but that’s impossible to enforce, so I let it go.
Once our eldest was 7 or so, I could leave him under the casual supervision of the dear old ladies who sat near us. Sometimes one of them would sit really close. For some reason, however, most small children and most dear ladies sit in the back! I would take the baby out and return 10 minutes later to find my children still more or less quiet and alone in the front row. I felt really blessed that they behaved most of the time.
