At the age of 3 and half, Ilan already seems to be part of a 'crew' at shul, which is cute, funny and no good for my health! Thank G-d, he needs no persuasion about coming to shul with me...in fact, he cries if I go on my own, for whatever reason!
However, this past shabbat, he spotted one of his friends, who just happens to be the rabbi's son, and sprinted straight into shul following his friend up onto the bimah! Having suggested he sat with me or sat down elsewhere with a book of his choice, he did so. I then returned to my davening, looking up a couple of moments later to discover Ilan had not actually returned to the bimah, but sat in the rabbi's seat, because his friend sits there sometimes!!
It was now my turn to sprint through shul, before whisking him off the rabbi's chair and sternly reminding him where he could and couldn't sit. It seemed to work, as he sat quietly for the intervening 15 minutes before we went to children's service, where 15 minutes' stored exuberance was released throughout the service, as Ilan sang, ran and did kiddish for all the other kids!
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