For the Love of Talking.

yes honey. we all hear you.

As I mentioned in my previous post, Ryan's Confirmation was this week. We try to bring Aiden to church, to teach him what it's all about, but I have to say, for my own peace of mind, Aiden's daddy often keeps him at home.

So, let me set the scene. Catholic masses are typically just under an hour. Special masses, such as a Confirmation, can last up to a good hour and a half. We first sat in the "baby friendly" section (you know the part that is out of earshot of everyone else - you can hear the priest but no one inside can hear the babies), but then were told about an open pew, right behind the Confirmation class, so we went ahead and took the chance. We were smack dab in the middle of the church. As soon as we sat down, I handed Aiden his bag of books and when that didn't suffice, my iPhone (minus the volume, and which btw, he is totally addicted to).

and still, Aiden talked. and talked. and talked. When I would "shhh" him, his grandma would look and smile, but not say a word. He wasn't screaming, he wasn't being unruly, he was just - talking. Most of the time loudly, sometimes he'd actually listen to me and use his "whisper" voice. When they played music he would loudly hum along like he was singing; actually he would do this when the whole church was completely silent too. When his daddy would stand up, he'd yell, "Daddy, sit down!" and his daddy would have to sit down to get him to be quiet. When we'd take him to the "unruly kid" part of the church, he'd scream, "NO, INSIDE!" until we headed back to the pew.

Ryan and his aunt (who was his sponsor and therefore sat by him towards the front of the church) heard all.of.it and even turned around a few times laughing. People around us - some smirked, some didn't; some smiled, some just stared. I didn't care. It was my oldest son's special day and I was going to be as close as I could to see it all and anyways what three year old doesn't talk in church? Well, that day it seemed to be only my three year old.

On the way out, as we laughed about it, my mother-in-law said it best:

"How can you shush a deaf child in church when you're so blessed that all your prayers have been answered that one day he would hear and speak?"

Amen to that mom!

and I just have to know, do other CI/hearing aid moms and dads out there have a hard time "shushing" their child as much as I do? I have to admit, I SMILE very big every time I have to do it. Maybe that's why he never takes me too seriously.