Little Angels, Indeed

We planned our trip to Canterbury Cathedral to be able to attend services at 11:15. We were somewhat surprised to find upon arrival that services were to be held in the crypt of the church rather than the main sanctuary. It was a small and intimate space with mostly local parishioners in attendance. It was so small that we ended up sitting on the front row. You should have seen the look of horror on the faces of both the priest and the parishioners when they saw that our small children clearly intended to stay for services. But they needn't have feared. The girls were absolutely perfect throughout the service, and we were nearly mobbed at the end by people, including the priest, rushing up to compliment us on our "exceptional children" One elderly lady told us, "I have to confess to you that my heart sank when I saw your children because, well, when children come to church they chatter, but I never heard a peep out of yours. They are really amazing girls--even the little one!" This may sound horrifying to our readers stateside, but we have heard this same thing about our children so many times on this trip that it no longer phases us. Our girls are well behaved because they are practiced at sitting still, involved in what's going on and appropriately threatened and bribed by their parents. This is an unclear concept to the English who 1) don't attend church very often and 2) don't seem to embrace the idea of parents' taking a firm hand with children. Perhaps they leavediscipline to the headmasters at the boarding schools. It is really one of the most a striking cultural difference between England and the States which we have encountered.