Yesterday at church, a new young family sat down next to us. They had many little ones and, as most parents with small children do, the parents became the bookends in the pew with the kids in the middle.

It’s the most effective way of preventing the escaping kid.

The pew corral has many benefits.

Two of our children are adults now and are out of the house and our son altar serves, so now it is just me and my husband in the pew.

Looking at the other family, I was thinking about how quickly we went from all five of us to just the two of us and it made me feel a mixture of sadness and joy.

When you are in the thick of wrangling little ones at Mass, it can seem like an eternity before you’ll be able to pay attention fully or spend an entire Mass in the seats without escorting a child to the back. You can anxiously wish that time away.

I felt sad because it ends all too soon and then you eagerly wait for the day when your adult kids come home to visit and the family is all together. I miss my two girls finding something funny at some point and then they start giggling, feeding off each other. In an effort to be quiet, they silently laugh which causes their shoulders to shake, which I imagine looks weird to the people behind them.

But, it also brings me joy because my husband and I survived those years and now we sit right next to each other hand-in-hand. We are the foundation that our children can always count on and come home to and that makes me happy.

When kids are little it can be hard to focus on your marriage, Catholic Pilgrims. Find the time, though. It doesn’t have to be expensive or elaborate, but find time to connect as husband and wife. Trust me when I say, your kids need you to stay close.

Have a blessed Monday.