"Changes in latitude; changes in attitude"

Last night, the Lemburg family went out to eat in our Sunday evening family meal ritual. (Sunday lunch is just too harried for priests' family, and we often find ourselves in different churches or citites at the noon hour and unable to gather before rest time). We've tried many different restaurants in our time here on the Coast, and this past Sunday, we tried a different one, just downt the street from our house.

Things were going well. They actually had a high chair for J (we've been to a couple that have not, and we won't be returning there); we had ordered our food, were being served by an energetic attentive waitress; MM was coloring on the fabulous kids sheet they had provided, and D and I were catching our breath and enjoying a moment or two of relative peace. It was then that I noticed that J (who is 15 months old) was doing something weird in his high chair. As I observed him and payed attention to our surroundings, I noticed that there was a Jimmy Buffet song playing in the restaurant. J was putting his hands behind his head with his elbows out to the side and gyrating his body (much like the siganture move from The Full Monty). I realized that he was trying to show his appreciation for the music by dancing enthusiastically. It was hilarious, and I kept laughing out loud as he continued to do his new move all throughout dinner.

We finished dinner and went home and started the bedtime ritual, and I got to put J to bed. We read a story, turned off the light, and snuggled in his rocking chair. I sang to him and rocked him for a good long time, telling him how precious he was to me and how much I enjoyed his dancing, and soon, he fell asleep in my arms like he has not done in months.

It was holy time. As holy as my time at the altar had been that morning. And as I sat there in the dark with the heavy weight of a sleeping baby snuggled against me, I thanked God that I am able to be a mom and a wife and a priest, and that God speaks to me through it all when I take time to listen to the music and be still in the holy moments.