A Serious Case of the Wiggles

Sadie is sound asleep, taking an early afternoon nap. She’s even snoring, making a cute little whining sound (she’s still a little fussy).

Sitting through Mass has become quite the challenge. I’m beginning to look back on her less mobile days fondly (at least for the couple of hours each week that we’re sitting in pews). I used to worry that she was going to cry and disrupt the service as I rushed her out of the church. These days I worry that she’s going to break free of her father’s grip and race up to the altar screaming (or laughing) as she goes for the chalice (we’re big on cups these days).

I bought her Church Shoes, which I’d read could help children understand the seriousness of the situation, but I think that a straight jacket would be more effective.

Instead we shuffle her back and forth between us and try not to go completely insane!

On Sunday she spent 90% of the hour on the steps out in front (at least you can hear everything from there). She cried for most of it and if you’d told me in advance, I never would have believed the reason.

And here it is: Flowers.

Anticipating a rowdy hour we sat at the very back of the church so that we could make a quick exit when the wiggles struck. Unfortunately Sadie noticed the beautiful vase of flowers on the table behind us, in the nook under the stairs that go up to the choir loft, about five minutes into the service. She decided that those flowers should be hers. She reached for them. I stopped her. A tantrum ensued. I took her outside.

We make sure that the outside time isn’t fun. She has to be held until she calms down (we don’t want to encourage tantrums, just so that we can go outside!). And this Sunday she calmed down pretty quickly on each trip outside. Then we would go back into the church and she would see the flowers from a few feet inside the door and the screaming would start.

Who knew that in twelve months a leaking diaper would seem so much easier to deal with then a severe case of the wiggles!