"Hey, Nun!"
Kelley shares the story of her family's first visit to a monastery. Here she is pictured with her husband Greg (holding Lauren) and Mother Barbara. They have since returned to the monastery several times.
I brought my family for the first time to Transfiguration Monastery in June of 2009. My eldest, who is 6, had just finished kindergarten and we had a one week break between school and the beginning of summer programs. My eldest daughter, Libby, is severely autistic and had never been away from home prior to this trip. My youngest daughter, Lauren, is four and “typically developing.” Even though she is two years younger than Libby, she claims the title “big sister” since she is able to do more than Libby can and feels it is her responsibility to protect her and even boss her around from time to time.
I was very nervous about this trip since I was not sure how Libby would acclimate to sleeping in a different environment – sleep issues are common with children with autism and she rarely sleeps through the night even at home. We arrived in our overloaded minivan for a four-day visit – this included three adults (myself, babysitter, and my mother) and the two kids. My husband would join us the following day.
Both my girls absolutely LOVED staying at the monastery from the moment we arrived. The guesthouse is very homey and there is a swing set and playhouse right outside the guest house. I think what they loved most was having the full attention of every adult present which is a rare occurrence in our busy schedule. Since the meals were lovingly cooked by the sisters and we were not distracted by housework, laundry or jobs, we were able to lavish our attention on the kids and each other.
The first night I barely slept. I had put the bench from the kitchen table in front the door in case Libby would get up and try to get out in the middle of the night. Around 5:00 a.m. I heard this blood-curdling scream and then quiet. Apparently, Libby had woken up and most have been quite startled by the different surroundings. She ended up crawling into bed with Shirley, my babysitter, and managed to stay in bed until 6:00 am. However, that is the only sleep issue we had for the entire four days!
Each morning, Libby would wake up and be raring to go. She wanted outside and didn’t understand why she couldn’t go out and play at 6:00 am! Her favorite location was the daisy patch – my apologies to the sisters for the defoliation that occurred that weekend! She alternated her play between the daisy patch, swing set, playhouse, and the baby pool that we brought for the kids.
Lauren had difficulty understanding that the nuns had names and were not to be referred to as “nun.” I explained to her that each nun had a name and was to be called “Sister” or “Mother.” Much to my chagrin, this lesson did not take hold. On Sunday after Liturgy, Mother Christophora took a break from her duties as abbess and was playing with Lauren. At some point, a game of chase incurred and whenever Mother Christophora would stop chasing Lauren, Lauren would excitedly call out “Hey, Nun!” Mother Christophora graciously accepted Lauren’s new nickname for her and even sent a postcard after our visit – signing it – “Nun.”
Lauren asked me numerous times during our visit – “Mommy, can we live here at the monastery forever?” And I am certain that Libby, if she could, would tell us that the same thing.
I brought my family for the first time to Transfiguration Monastery in June of 2009. My eldest, who is 6, had just finished kindergarten and we had a one week break between school and the beginning of summer programs. My eldest daughter, Libby, is severely autistic and had never been away from home prior to this trip. My youngest daughter, Lauren, is four and “typically developing.” Even though she is two years younger than Libby, she claims the title “big sister” since she is able to do more than Libby can and feels it is her responsibility to protect her and even boss her around from time to time.
I was very nervous about this trip since I was not sure how Libby would acclimate to sleeping in a different environment – sleep issues are common with children with autism and she rarely sleeps through the night even at home. We arrived in our overloaded minivan for a four-day visit – this included three adults (myself, babysitter, and my mother) and the two kids. My husband would join us the following day.
Both my girls absolutely LOVED staying at the monastery from the moment we arrived. The guesthouse is very homey and there is a swing set and playhouse right outside the guest house. I think what they loved most was having the full attention of every adult present which is a rare occurrence in our busy schedule. Since the meals were lovingly cooked by the sisters and we were not distracted by housework, laundry or jobs, we were able to lavish our attention on the kids and each other.
The first night I barely slept. I had put the bench from the kitchen table in front the door in case Libby would get up and try to get out in the middle of the night. Around 5:00 a.m. I heard this blood-curdling scream and then quiet. Apparently, Libby had woken up and most have been quite startled by the different surroundings. She ended up crawling into bed with Shirley, my babysitter, and managed to stay in bed until 6:00 am. However, that is the only sleep issue we had for the entire four days!
Each morning, Libby would wake up and be raring to go. She wanted outside and didn’t understand why she couldn’t go out and play at 6:00 am! Her favorite location was the daisy patch – my apologies to the sisters for the defoliation that occurred that weekend! She alternated her play between the daisy patch, swing set, playhouse, and the baby pool that we brought for the kids.
Lauren had difficulty understanding that the nuns had names and were not to be referred to as “nun.” I explained to her that each nun had a name and was to be called “Sister” or “Mother.” Much to my chagrin, this lesson did not take hold. On Sunday after Liturgy, Mother Christophora took a break from her duties as abbess and was playing with Lauren. At some point, a game of chase incurred and whenever Mother Christophora would stop chasing Lauren, Lauren would excitedly call out “Hey, Nun!” Mother Christophora graciously accepted Lauren’s new nickname for her and even sent a postcard after our visit – signing it – “Nun.”
Lauren asked me numerous times during our visit – “Mommy, can we live here at the monastery forever?” And I am certain that Libby, if she could, would tell us that the same thing.