Since having mobile kids, Sacrament meeting has become a challenge for me. I try to focus, but often I am so mortified by my kids’ poor behavior that I can’t quite have transcendent spiritual experiences during the meeting. Today I was too exhausted to care much, so we sat in the lobby while the kids actually ran laps and occasionally squealed in front of the open double doors to the chapel. I have tried to close those doors in the past, but the sweet doorman with Alzheimer’s is determined to keep them open. So whoever wants to witness our massive parental failures can feel free.
I ended the meeting grumbling to Abe that I can’t wait for the second coming so that we can finally just have church at home. He listened patiently and then did all of the work involved in cajoling our kids, by then bouncing off the walls in the church foyer, to go to their classrooms.
I had prayed in the morning to have a good experience in nursery, but after Sacrament, I felt depleted and annoyed. But my attitude turned completely around because the children in the nursery were positively charming today. They were so adorable and sweet. It didn’t even matter that I bombed my lesson. I was supposed to do a lesson review in nursery, but when it came time to teach, my mind went completely blank. For the life of me, I couldn’t remember the words or melodies of the songs I was planning on singing to the kids. Since my lesson plan consisted of three songs and puppet-making, I found myself in a little bit of a bind.
Thankfully, the other teacher suggested we just take the kids outside to admire God’s nature. We watched a thunderstorm roll in over the distant mountains, and I enjoyed the whole experience more than if I had remembered the songs. The kids in nursery were so, so darling today, and I thoroughly enjoyed my calling.
Meanwhile, Abe taught a lesson on the Second Coming. He thought it fell a little flat, but I am sure it went better than he thought it did.
After church, we came home, ate, and collapsed for a couple hours while the kids played in their play spaces and watched Veggie Tales. Abe and I talked for a long time about lots of stuff. I always love talking with him.
Then we took the girls on a walk, even though it was already their bedtime.
