Monday, May 23, 2011

Totally Tactless Tuesday on a Monday

When you are sitting in sacrament meeting and you witness the mother of 7 leave the meeting to nurse the infant, here are some dos and don'ts for you to consider should things get interesting for the father and the 6 remaining children in the pew:

Do
  • Ask a child to come sit with you so he doesn't get smacked in the head by a flying hymnbook.
  • Offer to hold a twin.
  • Entertain the twin or twins with whatever you have on hand-- be it post-it notes or just a big helping of patience.
  • Offer to sit with a few of the calmer children while the father separates the two in a brawl.
  • Offer up silent prayers on his behalf.
  • Go get the mother so she knows what's going on.


Don't
  • Ask the mother after church if she fed her children breakfast that morning or didn't get them to bed on time. 

4 comments:

Marcy said...

Oh, I'm so sorry. Man, Sundays are the hardest days for families with small children! Someone actually said that to you? How very inconsiderate. When I was single and going to church with just 3 kids a very kind woman helped me with my kids on a regular basis. So sweet. Turns out, she'd been a single mother once too.

Nikki said...

Marcy-- Crazy huh?! I was shocked she actually said that to me.

And that's so nice of the lady to help you. I bet she really had a good understanding having been through it herself. Sometimes when I'm particularly frazzled (usually during church), I think, They are only little and crazy for such a short time. One day they'll be grown and I'll be the one offering help to others again.

Lisa Loo said...

We bring a bag of toys with us and sit behind the Bishop's wife. SHe has her hands full in our ward. We love her kids and always hope we are helpers and not overstepping our bounds.

Julie V. said...

Blessings go to the angels who assisted, too bad the others miss out.