Monday Grievances

Yesterday was Easter, and what a wonderful Easter it was.  We rejoiced in the fact that Jesus had risen, we were with family, and in NYC for just a little bit, the sun was shinning gloriously!  At our house an Easter Egg hunt, (Yes, my mother does an egg hunt for me and my sister. Who cares I'm the age that I am, she does it still and i revel in it), where my sister and I walked away with tons of prizes!  There was also a beautiful and delicious feast that was prepared for the family by my incredibly talented in the kitchen momma: Churrasco (Steak), Chimichurri Sauce, Yellow Rice, Mashed Potatoes (because I'm a baby), Garlic Shrimp and to keep us healthy, a Salad.  It was a GREAT day.

Now with all that wonderfulness, I have to get to the point of this blog, because it's Monday, and that's what we do here on Mondays.  The topic: Manners & Respect! Or a lack thereof.  Yesterday we went to Church; I even got my boyfriend to come along.  Now we may not go to Church every single Sunday, but when we do go we appreciate it, feel it's peace and are comforted by the emotions we get when we walk into that building.  I remember going when I was younger and it being such a strict experience.  There was no talking, no walking around in the middle of the service and definitely no answering your cell phone!  So please, someone tell me when it became appropriate to do all these things in the house of the Lord?  You're suppose to be paying attention to the word of the Lord, and here you are using it as coffee talk hour.  Now I won't pretend that I sometimes make comments during Mass.  Like when our priest who has a strong spanish acent tries to pronoucne something in English, I'll make a job.  But for the most part I'm extremely respectful, not only to the preist but to the other church patrons.

Yesterday, I saw children walking around and playing in the back of the Church as if it were a playground.  I guess some parents grouped them together and sat them in the back, and then sat closer to the front.  These kids were reading magazines, chit chatting and having a grand ol' time.  I was in shock.  When I was younger, wasn't even allowed to heavy breathe, without someone giving me a stern look or a wack across the back of the head by a teacher (I went to Catholic School).  Another kid (about 3yrs old) just walked out of the pew, over a bunch of people, to grab his stroller and start racing it around for second.  Another girl kept whining and yelling because she wanted her sisters cell phone; she also had a bag of chips, which the floor had more of than she did.  Someone please tell me what happened to manners and respect? I'm sorry unless you're under the age of 2, children should already have developed the idea of what's right and wrong.  When did parents give up the parent role and just allow the kids to do what they want?  Oh wait, I guess kids learn from the parents and that's why they're acting up.

During mass I also saw two people using their cell phones.  One woman sitting in front of us, looked back as if she considered taking the call outside. But instead, just ducked her head a little more and continued talking.  Another couple behind us was laughing and talking throughout the entire service.  And my favorite part, were some of the outfits.  Now even I do go to Church with skirts or dresses.  However I find it extremely inappropriate for people to come in with their boobs hanging out, their muffin tops poking out from a shirt that is clearly not a belly shirt, but because of the chi-chos* (love handles) the shirt is raised up.  One woman sitting in front of us, knelt down and I immediately saw butt crack.  And when she stood up, there it remained, while she took a good 2 minutes to finally raise up her pants and fix her shirt.  Another disrespectful instance is coming in when you know service is over in about 20mins.  Catholic services usually last between 1 hour and 1 hour & a half.  Now if Mass was scheduled to start at 12, why would you stroll in at 1:45?  Why even come? Are you trying to make yourself feel better because at least you went?  Do you think you're impressing God? He saw you come in late, he's not blind.

It truly aggravates me seeing the lack of respect so many people have in this world.  But it irritates me even more when in one of the few places you should be respectful, nice and courteous, most people can't handle it.  If you have no real desire to be there, or would rather be doing something else that you can't seem to focus for an hour and change, then you really shouldn't go at all.  You're not giving it your full attention, so why bother.  I guess that's just how I feel about the situation. I know being a child of God, I shouldn't really judge anyone. But when you interfere with my time to worship, well then I have to be a little rude too.

Anyway, like I said, all in all our Easter Sunday was a beautiful one and I hope all of our Easter Sunday was a wonderful one as well.  Happy Blogging!