This article was previously published on Latterdaysaintwoman.com
In most wards, the nursery seems to be filled with the mothers of toddlers, the very women I feel don’t belong there. They are with toddlers all day every day. On Sundays, they deserve a break. To my mind, the nursery is the perfect place for grandmas who live far from their grandchildren, and older women whose children are grown but who don’t have grandchildren yet.
I’m fifty, and happily settled in as the nursery leader. We have a total staff of five women, and four of us are older. We do have one young mom who wants to be there–and anyway, you need one person whose knees still work.None of us, except for the young mom, has little children at home, and we’re very happy to rock in the rocking chair (if you’re having older ladies in nursery, rocking chairs are mandatory) cuddling a small child, playing with our stick puppets, and telling stories to little ones. We’re at the borrowed child stage of life and the nursery is full of adorable little borrow-able children.
And think of the blessing you are to those little ones. Children always need more people to love them. One young boy in our nursery looks so forward to seeing our nursery leaders, that he will come running in every week, eager to play. One little girl still cries every week when her mother drops her off. But we are blessed with a sweet lady who loves to rock, and we hand her the baby girl, and soon she is calm again. We call that sister the “Baby whisperer”.
To read more articles by Terrie Bittner, please click here.
I know there are many older ladies who feel they’ve “done their time” in nursery, but for my part, I may never leave. Puppets, flannel boards, babies, rocking chair, snacks, and even bare feet if you want them…what more can you ask of church?
The late Terrie Lynn Bittner—beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and friend—was the author of two homeschooling books and numerous articles, including several that appeared in Latter-day Saint magazines. She became a member of the Church at the age of 17 and began sharing her faith online in 1992.
