Feb 26 2009
To Be Removed From Church
Last night’s Ash Wednesday service began around the same time we would have eaten dinner and lasted through all of the normal bedtime rituals and preparation. I offered my two-year-old dinner before we left, but he just wasn’t hungry. Plus, we had been playing outside and he wasn’t ready to be done with his outdoor adventures. So, I gave up on dinner and concentrated on getting him to use the potty before we left. It was a struggle to get him inside and to the bathroom. He is a boy, maybe I should have just let him pee on a bush. We probably would not have had all the drama and conflict! Finally, he did go to the bathroom and then we were off to mass.
We entered the church plenty early and within just a few minutes Sam started acting up. Now, he is normally very well-behaved in church. He enjoys looking at the song books and around at all the people and pictures. But this evening, whether it be from hunger and low blood sugar or just out of being tired, he was horrible. He started jumping on the kneeler and for some reason decided that he was a monkey. He would laugh and make the monkey “ooh-ooh, ahh-ahh” sound and then laugh some more. Verbal reminders to be quiet and threatening to remove him from church did not work. The little-boy-turned-monkey behavior continued until people in front of us started to turn around to see who was the culprit of the strange noises. My husband finally removed him from church, took him outside, and reminded him to sit and listen and be quiet. After a few minutes, they returned and so did the monkey. Again, he was reminded to be quiet. Did he listen? Of course not. My husband whispered in his ear that if he didn’t sit quietly and listen he was just going to take him home. The monkey continued and, once again, Sam was removed from church. This time my husband actually took him to the car and proceeded to strap him into the car seat. Afterall, he was told that he had to go home and go to bed if he continued to act up. Sam screamed and screamed, “No, mom-mom. No, I want mom-mom.” After a few minutes, he settled down and once again it was explained to him that if he went back into the building he would sit quietly, listen, and behave. They returned. I could tell that Sam had been crying - his eyes and cheeks were red and watery. However, he sat in the pew and did not move. He stood when everyone else stood. He sang when the music played. It was a miracle! I witnessed a miracle! The monkey had been removed from my son’s body and his sweet personality returned. The rest of the service was uneventful, but as we walked out we had several people ask us about the monkey which had taken over my son’s body. It was kind of embarassing, but at least the possession was over!
