of church, snacks, boys and girls

These two kids in their parents laps are having a communion of their own as the rest of the church celebrates holy communion and ignores them. By the way, how come kids don’t celebrate communion? Just wondering…so boy and girl, it’s always a boy and a girl. The girl and her mother are sitting behind the boy and his mother. Girl has a packet of corn puffs; she picks one at a time and cracks it on her tiny teeth. The boy is standing on his mother’s lap, his head on her shoulder, looking back at a girl…who is chewing on corn puffs. He observes the girl for a while; carried away by the look on the girl’s face as she savours the crispy stuff she is stuffing into her tiny mouth. He stretches out his hand in the girl’s direction; she places a snack in his tiny hand. The boy studies it before taking a bite then he sort of feels it on his tongue a hesitant look in his eyes. He takes a bite, then a second…more confident this time…then he quickly pops the final small bit into his mouth. He quickly extends his hand to the girl again. She dutifully passes another piece. The boy’s mum has now noticed the communion going on behind her back. Her brilliance tells her that if she made the boy sit, then she would break the tryst. How wrong, the boy does not and will not sit. He pulls himself ramrod straight and bending him to a sitting position could turn into comedy she would hate to be a part of in church. He stretches out his hand again, another corn puff. This goes on for a while, with the boy’s mum trying everything she can think of to break this up. (There is always a parent trying to break up these sorts of communion). The girl’s mum has been drawn in as well and is sometimes handing the chips herself.

Then lo and behold, the bag runs out of the chips. The boy does not understand this. His face contorts, he gets really agitated and begins a low whine. His mum can smell the showdown about to take place and stealthily leaves the church with boy on shoulder.

Please don’t wonder why I had all the time to follow the goings on between these two beautiful strangers….first, I guess I am just fascinated by boys and girls getting together, even if its just sharing silly corn puffs. Or it could be for the simple reason that messages are passed on so easily by babes that my easily distractible mind was drawn in. Or it could have been the girls pretty red dress and disarming smile that she wore every time she passed on a chip to the boy. Or the boy’s faith in this stranger who was feeding him in church. Or it was for the simple and most basic of reasons….love. Love easily draws! I guess that’s it.