Hommel Mangas
Last weekend we drove down to First Christian Church in Columbus to worship with Steve’s mom, Carmen. Our eldest Alex drove in from Cincinnati, and daughter Chloe, husband Michael Tillman, and their 20-month-old son John helped fill out half a church pew. Our youngest, Phoebe, and husband Jacob Ritchie were helping lead worship at Trader’s Point Christian Church.
We attended the Sunday morning family service, where all ages worship together. As Alex sat next to her 94-year-old grandmother, I recalled the joy she brought to Carmen nearly 33 years ago, being the first girl born into the Mangas family in 60-some years. When Chloe carried my grandson John into the sanctuary last Sunday, my heart was delighted.
Five laps down the pew, John sat listening intently — then he spotted me, smiled and pointed his chubby little finger at me — I returned his greeting. I tried not to distract him because he was being so content, but when he leaned forward and smiled, waiting to catch my attention, I did the same. Looking around, I couldn’t help notice a connection. Carmen sitting next to me, another grandmother that sat to the left of me, someone’s great-grandmother that sat in front of me and another great-great-grandmother that sat directly behind John — all kept waving and smiling at John when he’d fervently work at catching their attention by making eye-contact, smiling and waving.
I should probably share that John looked quite dapper wearing a long-sleeved, gray-collared dress shirt, with a matching red and gray plaid bow-tie.
On cue, (because I peeked with one eye open) he bowed his head, pressed his hands together to pray when everyone else did.
It’s the little things in life.
This moment later evoked sitting in the long pews at Our Lady of the Greenwood Catholic Church with my parents and six brothers and sisters — passing our youngest brother Christopher down the row so the next sibling would get a turn to help keep him occupied when he was a toddler. Chris enjoyed slamming the kneelers down, which obviously made a loud noise when they hit the floor. It was a game to quickly slide our foot underneath the genuflectorium wooden leg so it wouldn’t slam down, at least until Mom gave us the “look” that we were still not being quiet enough.
John was a trooper and Chloe brought him a small zippered pencil case-like bag with three Fisher-Price people to quietly play with. And for the first time in over six decades of worship, I witnessed with my own eyes that a vintage 1970-era wooden Fisher-Price Little People fit perfectly in the communion cup holders on the back of a wooden pew. Who knew?
Am I the only mother/grandmother in Johnson County that never knew this proportional combination existed — and was quite delighted in finding out?
It’s the little things in life.
Janet Hommel Mangas grew up on the east side of Greenwood. The Center Grove area resident and her husband are the parents of three daughters. Send comments to [email protected].
