How Do You Know They Are Ready?

I never wanted to be one of those parents who sent their kid to something just because they were a certain age. We are Catholic and in our diocese and our parish, it is considered a given that second graders receive their First Holy Communion. As a parent, this has been on my mind for the last year, because our oldest is considered to be starting second grade this fall.

My spouse and I have been discussing with our child and evaluating readiness for this sacrament and for that of Penance (also called Confession or Reconcilliation). I have recently decided that we had better wait another year. She has the technical knowledge that is desired before taking such a step, but not the level of maturity. One friend pointed out that Sacraments come with their own graces and perhaps one should give the benefit of the doubt. (Catholics believe that we receive Jesus in Holy Communion – that the Eucharist is really the Body, Blood, Soul, & Divinity of Jesus Christ and not just a symbol. So, this is truly a big step in our faith.)

For all Christians out there – not just the Catholics – how do you determine when a child is ready for a big step in your faith? Whether it be Confirmation, Communion, or Baptism (for those who do not practice infant-baptisms)?

Only One Small Hiccup

Vacation bible school is over and the kids had a blast. The only hiccup was Thursday night when it started to pour rain right before we picked them up. I had neglected to check the forecast earlier, although I did note the dark rain clouds moving into the area. I hoped the storm would hold off until we had the children home. It didn’t work out that way. We could barely see through the driving rain on the way to pick up our kids and a neighbor.

Our biggest regret was that we rode our bikes originally although we switched to the van to pick them up because of the storm. Through pouring rain, foot-deep “flood” rivers, and dark conditions, we packed all the bikes and the kids into the van and headed home. Two of the children requested blankets during the short drive because of their wet skin and the chilly air. The neighbors cheered when we dropped off their child and his bike. I hadn’t planned on a “natural shower,” but had one anyway.

Overall, the kids really enjoyed themselves. They came home with lots of stories, trinkets, craft projects, and an enthusiasm for vacation bible school in the future. One of the adult volunteers told me on the last day that my quiet (shy) child actually led her group in the bible verse. Color me astonished!

We will certainly consider sending them to this activity again.

Busy! Busy!

I am one of those introverts who would rather stay home with a good book than interact with people. If there is one thing on my calendar all week, I stress out thinking I’ll forget it or that it breaks up my regular schedule. However, I have been out of my comfort zone for the last few weeks in this regard.

One contributor was some horrible back pain I started having almost two months ago. It was so bad that I couldn’t sit on the floor and change diapers. I became a patient of a chiropractor and am now in much better shape (literally and figuratively). However, it did mean trips to another nearby town three times a week for the past month.

Another contributor is the kid’s summer activities. We have vacation bible school (which the kids are enjoying immensely), going to the pool, the reading club at the library, tumbling classes, etc. I think we were gone more today than home. Except for the morning (breakfast, chores, reading-of-books), the kids more outside more than inside our house today. That’s a great thing for keeping the house clean, but not so great for keeping the children and their clothes clean!

On a side note, we are getting a lot of use out of our bicycles this summer. We’ve been able to bike to a lot of places in town and people are getting used to seeing us pedaling by. We do a lot of walking, as well. But biking is becoming more and more favored each day. We certainly get there faster when we are on wheels.

Activities Review

Things have definitely been busy here since school officially ended for the spring. The kids have been to the pool, joined the summer reading club at the library, learned six letters (one uppercase) in cursive, done upteen review pages in the math books I provided for review, run rampant all over the neighborhood, rode their bike many miles, and driven their parents crazy only a little.

My #2 child is also trying out gymnastics/tumbling. She has only gone twice and the first time was rather nerve-racking as she kept running out of the gym to tell Mom she wanted to go home NOW. When she left that first time, however, she commented, “That was fun, Mom. Can we do it again sometime?” My reply was, “Yes. NEXT WEEK.” The second session went much better as far as her doing what she was supposed to when she was told. We have met MANY young children who are headed into kindergarten in the fall at one of the local public schools.

We are pondering sending the two oldest to Vacation Bible School next week. I am leaning toward letting them go this year and seeing how it goes. My husband was adamantly against it until I asked for his reasons. He could not come up with anything except an aversion to such activities in general. Since we are not sending him, he quickly agreed to give it a go if I really wanted to try it. We will see how next week shapes up.