W-h-a-t-e-v-e-r

Two going on twelve, that's our daughter right now. We decided to commit to a new regime in the Siler household. We will make time for Church every weekend. We are planning on sending Isabelle to The School of the Incarnation (the only Catholic grade school in our area) in three years for Kindergarten. I've already called, and the only pre-requisites are that your Parish Priest knows your family on a first-name basis, and that you send those pretty little envelopes in each week (preferably, you "bring" them in each week).

Isabelle can already recite the "Our Father" by heart, we do so every night before bed. We also tell God what we are thankful for each night before bed. She says Grace before each meal. So, she is well on her way, but we've been remiss in attending Mass the past three years of her life.

So this weekend was our foray into regular Mass attendance. (Isabelle HAS been to Church a few times, just not recently).

Let me start by saying that Isabelle was very very very well-behaved. She understood that Church was like the Library...you cannot talk. You can whisper if you need to, but you can't talk out loud. She was very excited to recite her "Our Father" with the entire congregation, and did so on queue.

During the Mass, I was deliberately responding at the appropriate times in a louder and clearer voice than normal, while looking at Isabelle so she could understand what the parishioners "should" be saying. I didn't ask her to say anything, I just wanted her to hear and see ME responding so she started to witness how the whole Mass thing worked.

At one point, during the Penitential Rite (Lord have mercy...Christ have mercy...Lord have mercy), she was sitting on the pew, and she rolled her head back and said, "What...Ever....GOD".

Ummm, WHAT?!?!?  She had never busted out a "what...ever" (snotty, teenager style) before this day and she decides to drop one in MASS?!?!?  Ed & I were horrified, yet found ourselves chuckling. I couldn't face my fellow Church-goers for the rest of the Mass.

I just hope it was a one-time thing. Although, that just means next week will bring something "new" which could be even worse. What....ever, Isabelle!