Fishing with Palms...

A cross made by a palm

Some days I wish I carried a camera with me every where I went.  I know, if I was truly a techno-savy geek I'd have one of those cool iPhone or droids or robots, or whatever they're called...but I don't, so until I start, you'll just have to visualize the humor I see on almost a daily basis.

Take today for instance.  Palm Sunday.  I absolutely LOVE Holy Week.  I really do. I wish I had known more about my faith as a young person, but now I'm taking what I know and teaching my children.  So Palm Sunday, the day we get our Palms, means even more to me now.  This is the first Palm Sunday in 7 years I only had 3 children in the pew, too! JT was serving, and my little EM was spending the night with a friend and attending a later Mass. 

So you would think with only 3 and one of the only 3 being 12, we might have a less entertaining pew to watch?   Not hardly, my friend.  I think until all five of my children are grown and no longer sitting with us at Mass we will always be open to the fact that something  entertaining will happen during Mass.  Today was just another notch in the belt of two people who think they have see everything...not so!

So in true Catholic form, we had to arrive to Mass about 20 minutes early because this week tends to wake sleeping, guilty Catholics up to attend and pews in the front tend to be their targets, so we got to church at 9:15 (15 minutes early) and found a front row pew.  I had already taken the little one potty (I will miss using her as an excuse for myself, let me tell you) and we all had our palms and my hubby and I had put ours behind us lest the two younger ones decided to use them for weapons, er, I mean toy swords, too.  My youngest is definitely at one of the most entertaining phases in life.   Some of it is clearly #5 syndrome and if you have 5 children you'll understand, and if you don't, well, just picture your youngest child x's 20... Yes.  Spoiled to the CORE because quite frankly, you've read all the ridiculous baby books and you've decided that they are all....yes, ridiculous, so you throw caution to the wind and basically as long as the child isn't causing any bodily harm to anyone else or himself, most things go...

Today was no different, except that the bodily harm did involve her trying to poke my eye out with the palm.  Since we sit on the front row, we actually have quite an advantage.  Normally if you're in the middle of the church with people in front and people behind, you have to really keep eye on the palms and make sure your children are not torturing anyone in front or behind you.  Which can get pretty tedious at times because there are some little old ladies who either have never had children, or have just forgotten what it's like to hand a 3 year old a long palm and tell them to just "hold it."  It's pure torture.

But sitting in the front row, we just have to make sure they keep it in our pew or in front of us, (until Communion that is...but that's another entertaining story).  So little ME takes her palm and after a few requests to stop poking me in the eye and stop trying to put it into my mouth, she gets this brilliant 3 year old idea!  She's going fishing!  It's absolutely hysterical!  At one point she tells her dad and I she caught a dolphin!  We both look at each other and he tells her he thinks that's actually illegal and she says, "No it's not." Typical answer from her.  But she continues fishing.  She is definitely entertained for a very long time with this palm.  She put in in the book holder on the pew and tried swatting it a few times like it was battling her, she threw it over the front of the pew and had to "retrieve" it several times which is an old favorite of hers with books.  Nothing like getting a little fresh air when you leave the pew for a few seconds...

Overall, Mass was rather enjoyable.  Like I said, there is nothing like Holy Week in the Church. Think about it, Jesus is a rock star in the gospels today.  People are throwing palms in the road before him, a sign of royalty, people are cheering for him and trying to get a glimpse of him, and on Friday, we'll be remembering his crucifixion and death on the cross by the same people.  I am awed.

Jesus Christ-the rock star on Palm Sunday

I will keep you posted if anything else entertaining happens because we will be at church a lot this week.  Maybe, just maybe, I'll start carrying a camera with me to catch it...