Parenting Sure Is a Humbling Business......

Today started off as a normal morning at church - Storm was deep into sensory seeking behaviors  through the first part of the service and since he was in my arms I am sure it looked like I was wrestling a cat as he pushed his head/feet/face onto various parts of my body trying to satisfy this need.   Thankfully I had enough coffee and sleep the night before to find him mildly amusing and understood what he was doing wasn't naughty - it was just his way of becoming more regulated before we got to the really tough part of the service...sitting through the sermon.

After the offering I could tell that our little wrestling game was working well and predicted that he would settle down as we stood up for the last song and I held him close to my shoulder.  All good...except that our older kids in the row behind us - kids who know better - started pulling on his legs and arms and squeezing his thighs.  I was about to give them the dirty mommy look until I noticed the affect they were having on him.  Rather than getting excited with their playing, the more they pulled pushed and squoze, the more relaxed his body got and by the end of the song he was mushy dead weight in my arms - ready to sit and listen.

It took me a few minutes to realize that they (in their various levels of abilities) had seen that he needed a little help to settle down and had risked my evil eye to jump in and do what they could.  It is sobering to reflect on how many times I may have carelessly pushed away little hands who were reaching out to help a brother or sister in exactly the right ways.  Me the mommy - the one who is too busy to see the good that is happening right under my nose.

This parenting is humbling business...to be sure.