Single parent, up all night, double-ear infection. Enough said. On another note, please bear with me as I first tell you all about our trials of going to church. Never did I have to worry about going to church. We may not have gone often enough, true, but I never really had a worry about it. In fact, I truly enjoyed it when I worked at a Catholic school. I take that back, sometimes I did worry when I was there. Will my kids get their readings right? Will they get up at the right time? Will they...? But, to an extent, I knew that I always had time for contemplative prayer. I knew that whenever I went to church, I received the eucharist. Even when Mia was an infant, this was so easy. It never occured to me that this would/could change. And, then it did. One day, we took Mia to church and she had learned to walk. One day, she wanted to explore. One day, she found her "outside" voice. One day, she learned to run. All of a sudden, church was a worry. Not only that, between Brett and I, we could physically be in church and have no idea what was said. From that day forward, church became burdensome. Then it happened. Mia sat in the pew up until the profession of faith - her longest stint yet. However, she decided she was done. I thought we would walk around in the back. No. She was so loud, I felt we had no other option. Mia and I spend time in the hallway and in the hall. I missed communion. I felt like the roof had come crashing down. I cried. Really. I haven't been back since. I spent time looking for inspiration, advice, etc. Surely, parents have struggled with this before. Katie's advice was inspiring. The blog I read was exactly what I needed. Not going to church isn't an option. Our attitude, and what we do with Mia during church is an option. Easier said than done, but wish us luck and pray for us at least, will ya?