Masjid Madness

Praying taraweeh @ Masjid Toronto has become quite a challenge. If you can actually keep your khushoo amidst crying children, boys charging up and down the stairs, screaming girls, and women who find the only time to chat is when the prayer starts... then you must be quite rare!
Every day we have a different strategy for dealing with kids. Today I decided Sawitri and I would pray alternatingly so that we could supervise the women and kids @ all times.

The basement was surprisingly empty today, so I decided to take the kids on a trek down the elevator. Of course, the kids have now learnt that getting into the elevator means that as soon as the doors open, they have an unlimited license to scream.

And there are all sorts of kids. One little girl apparently suffers from socksomania (taken from kleptomania)- she'd just yank a sock off her sister and run away with it. Another boy would just want to hop on one leg for as long as he could, then fall down and restart. This one grade 4 girl just loved telling the Who-Ate-Who story: There was a bear who ate the lion. And the lion ate the rabbit, and the rabbit ate the cat, and the cat ate the donkey. And then there was a tiger who ate the eagle, and the eagle ate the duck... Another little girl was given a pedometer by her mother earlier in the today, so she was jumping as much as she could to see the electronic display number go up. The boys were pulling off each other's sweater, and the elevator was screaming to be released. One particular baby just liked to run after any moving human. At witr time, I was trying to quieten a few girls, when one of the sisters asked me, 'are you the baby sitter? Or did you decide not to pray taraweeh today?' 'I'm helping out the Masjid board...' 'Mashallah sister, you have so much patience. I'd just make the kids sit left and right. May Allah bless you with 4-5 children'
Umm... not too sure about that!

It's kinda sad that I heave a sigh of relief when the first 10 rakahs are over- Great, most of the kids and women will be gone by then!