Scatterbrained

That's how I have been feeling this week, and today is no different. Because I'm feeling so scatterbrained, this is likely to be an all-over-the-place post.

First, the reason I'm scatterbrained....well, today I can chalk it up to running on empty. I didn't get much sleep last night. When Boy has a rough night...Mama has a rough night. He woke up several times complaining of a pain in his foot. I got about 3 hours of sleep before I was too awake to go back to sleep. Thankfully, this morning, he had no recollection of any foot pain and all the pain was magically gone. Too bad I had to lose sleep over it, right?

And can you believe that summer is over? That's right, summer is O V E R as of this week for me as I headed back to work for planning...another reason I'm so scatterbrained. We are slowly transitioning back into a work schedule after a go-with-the-flow kind of summer. Hard to believe the summer that was creeping by and being savored is gone. Just like that. In the blink of an eye. June took its time, and July flew....then there's August....with the thought of heading back to school looming, it is hard to truly enjoy those final days. But we sure tried to make the most of them.

One of the final weekends, we had an impromptu little pool party and BBQ. Eli couldn't wait to get into the pool, and wasted no time climbing in....despite not having his suit on yet.

Such a silly boy!

Can you believe our silly boy is going to be in a preschool class this year? I am so excited that he will be at school with me again this year...only this time, he'll be part of the preschool class. He had a visit from his teacher last week, he and is just so excited about school and having a teacher. I have been trying not to bring to school with me much this week to help him transition to being part of a class starting next week, but he did have to come with me on Monday. It was a delight to watch him give hugs to all the adults he's missed all summer and play on the playground with some older children. It truly is a place Eli feels safe and loved. As we drove away, he said from the backseat, "I miss my school." He's going to love this year!

And onto other random, yet not so silly thoughts....

Eli has been talking more and more about Jesus these days. It is truly a joy to hear your child speak about Jesus and His love for us. Since he was a baby, we have been bringing Eli to Mass with us. We have always felt that it is important to share this experience and the celebration of the Eucharist with him. As he has gotten older, it has become more and more difficult for him to "behave" during Mass. I know, some would argue that it isn't developmentally appropriate for him to participate or be expected to sit, listen, and "behave" at 2 and a 1/2 years old. Overall, we are committed to our decision of having him at Mass with us, and I think he does well. (Note, he does act better when his godfather is saying the Mass. Eli loves finding Fr. Chris on the altar and listening to him talk...for a couple minutes at least!)

One of my tactics to help him prepare for Mass and act appropriately is to talk to him about what is happening. This means we talk about what the Eucharist is, what the prayers mean, why we are doing what we are doing, and what the readings are talking about...in toddler terms, of course. Most of the time, it goes right over his head, I'm sure of it. But I am also sure that a lot is sticking too. I know this because for at least a year, as Eli eats his peas, he offers one to me and says, "Body of Christ," as if offering me Communion. He knows many of the Mass parts and enjoys singing and praying along with the congregation. He also loves to say the blessing before meals and does the sign of the cross. And then of course, he has his bedtime prayers that he can now say on his own.

Eli's most recent fascination has been with the idea the Jesus died for us. He'll pause, mid-bedtime prayers, and say with a quizzical look on his face, "Jesus died for me?" Only now it is more of a statement, as in, "Didn't you know?" This leads me to the fact that we have definitely entered the "WHY?" stage because the first time he asked me, he then followed it with a...

"Why?"

"Because He loves you."

"Why?"

And then, we try our darnedest to explain Jesus' unexplainable AGAPE love for us. Several why's later, we respond, "Ask your godfather!" So, look out, Fr. Chris...be prepared for a barrage of questions about Jesus' love for us.

Lastly, while eating cheese crackers, Eli took a little bite of the triangle, careful to make it into a quadrangle (4-sided figure), and then looked up at me and said, "This is Jesus, Mommy." As I probed deeper trying to understand where that came from and why he would think that the cracker (with 4 sides, mind you...) was Jesus. All I could deduce was that it looked like a piece of a host to him.

There is a lot going on in that head of his. I love getting a sneak peek into his thoughts like this. I know there is so much more to teach him about God's love for us and scripture, but hey...not a bad place to start.

And P.S. ..... he is still no angel in church despite my sincere efforts to help him understand and be a part of the Mass. Constant reminders and proof that he is only 2...just in case we needed some.