Imitating Jesus

A few nights ago I was bathing my toddler, when my mind began to wander.  Overall, we truly enjoy bath time in our home.  On this night however, my husband was working late, the house was a disaster, my son had been overtired and cranky all afternoon, and I was battling first-trimester nausea and (i'll admit it) a bit of boredom.  As a result, I was daydreaming of all of the other things I would rather be doing at that moment...

This train of thought led me to Applejacs' recent post, which created a discussion between working and stay-at-home moms.  I started to pray, "dear Lord, is this really where you want me right now?  Is this the best use of the time and gifts you have given me?"

Almost immediately, as I poured water onto my sons' back, I was hit with the beautiful image of Jesus washing his apostles' feet.  Jesus serving others, lovingly, willingly.  Wow, was I quickly humbled!

Oftentimes, women feel that careers are a ladder to making a "real" difference in the world, or doing something most important and challenging.  I think that when we truly search within ourselves and our current situation, however tedious it may seem, we find so many opportunities that Christ gives us to imitate Him, and to serve others, and to act out of love.  My faith teaches me that nothing this world offers is more important than this.

Perhaps I wasn't saving the world that night in any big way, but with a little added love, I was suddenly helping to do Christ's work on earth.

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Through His Little Eyes

I have often felt somewhat peeved by those who begin their celebration of Christmas too early.  Nowadays stores shelves are stocked with candy canes amidst back-to-school supplies, Santa costumes are on display next to jack-o-lanterns, and the radio starts its Christmas programming before thanksgiving weekend.  The main source of my frustration is that come December 26, everybody is so tired of carols and eggnog that Christmas trees are immediately put out for trash and the occasion is over.  Don't they realize that the Christmas season is weeks long?  For this reason, I try to hold off on Christmas-ing, and focus on preparations during advent...

Until this year, that is.  It is still early November and I have already broken all of my rules.  There is a Christmas CD in my car, and I have stopped to admire the decorated trees at the mall.  My pantry is stocked with red and green candies for holiday baking, and I have already checked off a couple of items on my gift shopping list.

What has caused my insanity?  I can put the blame entirely on the wonderful little person currently living under my roof.

Technically it is not his first Christmas.  Last year we dressed up our little 8-month old in festive pajamas and drove around so he could see the lighted homes in our neighborhood.  He learned how to unwrap gifts, and ate his first bite of honey-glazed ham.  Somehow though, it is very different this year.  And I can hardly wait for it all!

I cannot wait to teach him the words to the french carols I grew up with, and to sing happy birthday to Jesus.  I cannot wait to see him play with our nativity set and let him decorate some sugar cookies.  This year I can teach him about the individual decorations on our family's tree.  We can wish others a Merry Christmas together, and snuggle in our jammies by the fireplace.  I can wake him up on Christmas morning, give him a goody-filled stocking and share in his excitement-- the excitement I remember feeling as a child.  This year, I can experience Christmas through his eyes as he soaks in the love and joy that envelops the world during this season.  This year, the family traditions REALLY begin-- traditions that will hopefully continue for many more years.

So perhaps I am a little more anxious to get to December 25th than usual...  But with advent only 2 weeks away, can you honestly blame me?

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E is for Eucharist

I remember the days when I used to love starting off my morning with daily mass.  I would bring my magnificat with me to follow along with the prayers and readings, and I would break fast with the eternal heavenly breakfast of champions- the Eucharist.  I always walked out feeling centered on Christ and ready to tackle my day.

It is disappointing to say, but lately going to mass with a young toddler leaves me feeling nothing but exhausted.  Even when he behaves it is challenging to pay attention to readings and focus on prayer.  We spend most of the time walking around the church, going in and out of the blessed sacrament chapel, looking through picture books and taking short breaks outside.  Although I still subscribe to my magnificat, it spends most of its time at home on my coffee table.  Basically I do whatever it takes to keep my baby calm during mass and to make it to communion so that I can receive Jesus.

I am often tempted to consider "what's the point?"  Am I truly feeding my soul by being physically present but distracted in every other way?  That is when I have to remind myself that God chose the vocation of motherhood for me.  If He wanted me to spend my day in prayer, I would be a religious, not a Mom.  I may not be receiving very many graces through prayer at mass anymore, but I have to trust that I am earning those graces in other ways, mainly by taking care of my son.  And when will I be in a better state to take care of my baby than after receiving Jesus in the Eucharist?

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TV & Toddlers

The USA Today just published a new study showing that too much time watching tv or playing video games can more than double a child's risk of attention problems. Now, you might be thinking "duh," but I know many children who watch far more than the recommended max of 2 hrs/day given by the American Academy of Pediatrics for children 2+. The recommendation for children under 2 is 0 television.

There are many reasons for this, one major one being that their developing brains can't process the quickly moving images as one fluid action and so it's almost like a strobe light effect and the brains are trained to jump so quickly from image to image that they have a difficult time developing the ability to focus. As they grow, they may be able to grasp the visual stimulation, but can't necessarily connect that if a character behaves badly early on in a show, that chastisement or a negative outcome later on is directly related to that wrong action. The child will mimic whatever they see on television simply because they just do what they see. They aren't necessarily capable of discerning right from wrong, especially when it's shown over the course of a half an hour, rather than explained to them concretely (hitting is wrong, sharing is nice).

Another study of the exposure to television at age 2, found that watching too much TV as toddlers later forecasted:

• a seven percent decrease in classroom engagement;
• a six percent decrease in math achievement (with no harmful effects on later reading);
• a 10 percent increase in victimization by classmates (peer rejection, being teased, assaulted or insulted by other students);
• a 13 percent decrease in weekend physical activity;
• a nine percent decrease in general physical activity;
• a 10 percent peak in snacks intake;
• a five percent increase in BMI.

In our home, we've made it a rule to strictly limit television with our children, particularly to none until over the age of 2. My firstborn is approaching her 2nd birthday, and while we have recently been a bit more lax about it, allowing her to watch one show maybe once a week on a day when she's not napping, or something on a long car ride, we have just re-commited our family to no television for her at all. She's turning 2, so the fallen nature is sadly, starting to show itself more, and I don't want to take any chances. Also, I find that when we give in to one show, she wants to watch another, because it is enticing. It's easy, it's entertaining, but it's not the best thing for her development, as science continues to show us. It is incredibly challenging as a parent to avoid it, and it's certainly not the end of the world if they watch a bit on a special occassion, or when parent is out of commission, but I know it's a habit I want to strive to avoid.

I highly encourage all parents to check out these recent articles:

TV, Video Games and Attention Span

Toddlers and TV

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