Other Stories

On to the other stories.

Is it a Whale or a Dolphin?

We went to a graduation party at a park on the Ohio River.  I'd never been to the park before, but I'll definitely go again.  It was wooded all the way down to the river, and the Kentucky side of the river was all wooded, so it had a nice Traveled Back in Time feeling.  1850's Americana.  Where's Huck Finn's raft when you need it?

The kids had a great time walking along the river bank and touching the (nasty-looking) water.  There were several fisherman along the bank, and the kids were enjoying talking to them.  Especially Tank.  He wanted to know all about what they were fishing for.  Fortunately, the fisherman was pleasantly chatty and this end of the conversation happened, as reported by the 12-year-old who was present:

Tank:  Do you think you'll catch a whale or a dolphin?
Fisherman:  I think I'll catch a fish.
Tank:  I think you'll catch a dolphin.

We have since shortened it to "Is it a whale or a dolphin?"

Teancom's Fear of Babies

We brought dinner over to a family who recently had a baby.  When we went, the baby was about a week old.  SO cute and SO little.  (I forget that they come so little.  It's always a pleasant surprise to see such a new human.)  Tank wanted to come, and I thought it was so he could see his friend's little sister.  I thought that was a cute sentiment.

We entered the house and I set down the 9x13 and then stood by the couch, oogling at the adorable baby.  Where was Tank?  Cowering behind my legs.  There was another adult there, a stranger to Tank, and I thought maybe Tank was scared of her.  He does things like that sometimes.  But no, it was the baby.

I did everything I could think of to make him look at the baby.  I held him.  He turned away.  I turned his face toward her.  He covered his eyes.  I tried to uncover his eyes.  He clung to my neck like a frightened monkey.  I put him down and tried holding the baby myself.  He buried his face between my legs.  I knelt down and put the baby right next to him.  He turned his back.

Whatever.  It was funny that he thought this little baby was so threatening.  It wasn't even OUR baby!

Later I asked him why he wouldn't look at the baby.  He said, "I just didn't want to."

Fights During Sacrament Meeting

Church is relatively non-eventful these days.  At least kid-wise.  I teach Gospel Doctrine, and that can be exciting or stressful or whatever, but the kids are pretty tame.  Tank still doesn't like going to class, but that's old hat now. 

It came as a surprise, then, when I started getting annoyed at Elijah before we were more than 10 minutes into sacrament meeting.  Elijah had a stuffy nose and when he gets one he snorts and plays with his nose, and it's obnoxious.  Especially when everyone's trying to be quiet and reverent.  (Yes, I know he's only 7.)

I sent him to the bathroom to blow his nose.  I assume he did that, but you never know.  He came back and immediately was back to snorting and blowing and nastiness.  Then the sacrament started.  You know, when everyone is trying to be really, really quiet.  I was starting to get really, really annoyed.  Usually around this point in the Escalating Annoyance Process (EAP), I turn to Rob to try to help.  This was no exception.  I asked Rob to take Elijah to the bathroom to help him blow his nose.  Rob pointed out that Elijah had already done that and normally there's not much to be done anyway.  I glared at Rob.  And then I continued being really, really annoyed.  Another notch up on the EAP.

I'm not claiming that I was rational beyond this point.  I asked Elijah to sit somewhere else.  I told Rob that, fine, I would sit somewhere else.  Rob said, "There's a time and a place to take care of things and in the middle of the sacrament is not the time.  I'll take care of it after it's over."  I was livid.  I was glaring at Rob on one side and Elijah on the other.

And then Elijah snorted again and this time there was nastiness all down his face.  I turned slowly, dramatically, and looked at Rob like, "Oh, I will kill you."  Without a word he got up and took Elijah to the bathroom.  What was I thinking right then?  "I TOLD you!" and "NOW it's a good time to take him to the bathroom!"  and "GLAD we weren't DISRUPTIVE or anything!"

Rob was gone for what seemed a very long time.  I spent the rest of the meeting calming down.  Rob and Elijah re-joined us for the very end of the meeting.  Turns out Rob had taken Elijah home and let him take some cold medicine.  What a good daddy he is. 

After I said the final "Amen," I turned to Rob and said an almost-calm, "I'm sorry."  He hugged me and I hugged him back.

We've had some difficult sacrament meetings, but this was the first time that I'd had a whispered argument with my husband through the most reverent part of it.  Awesome.

Elijah and the Book of Mormon

But those moments are worth it.  I'm not saying they're good moments, or that I'd like to repeat them.  But they're worth it when I realize that my children are learning something.  That they're growing in the Gospel.

Last week Elijah asked if he could get on Google.  I asked him why.  He said he wanted to look up who wrote the Book of Mormon.  I said, "Elijah, you know that."  We then had a short discussion about how Joseph Smith translated it, but that ancient prophets had written different sections of the Book of Mormon.

(Plus, googling the Book of Mormon might not be something I want my 7-year-old doing.  You never know what hits you're going to get.)

A few minutes later I found him on Google.  He'd typed in something like, "Did Joseph Smith have helpers or did he do it himself?"  And the page he was reading was a scholarly-type article about Joseph Smith and the translating process, complete with bullet points.  I scanned it to make sure it wasn't anti-Mormon, and then I left Elijah alone.

I came to me when he was done and said, "Mom, did you read that article?"  I told him I had.  "Wasn't it interesting?"  I smiled.  "Yes, it was."

Elijah asked how he could learn more about church history and about Joseph Smith.  Then he answered his own question by saying, "Oh, I know.  I could read Joseph Smith History."  I told him that was a good idea.  He said, "Yeah, but it's really long."  I told him that was true.  He has since read most of it.

Elijah is our child who is interested in the Gospel.  He wants the Priesthood because he wants to have the power of God.  He reads the Book of Mormon from time to time.  And he asks us how he can know that the Book of Mormon is true.  Actually, that one was funny.  He asked Rob how he could know if things are true.  And then to clarify, he said, "You know, like if Google doesn't know."

Oh, the mighty Google.

His Sunday School teacher taught him the scripture, "And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things."  He made this piece of artwork to go along with it:

Love that Elijah.

I'm glad we have moments like that amidst all the crazy moments, or even all the normal moments.  Helps remind me that it's all worth it.  It's all worth it.