Kids say the darndest things

We arrived a few minutes before church started. Today was pretty special since Bishop had gotten permission to completely flip the meetings so the Primary kids could practice their program. Last week we had to drive to the larger building on the other side of town since our building was getting the gym floor refinished. These people also don't want to have Saturday practices. We had had only one previous run through and it had been just to have all the kids walk up to the microphone, say their name, and sing the songs in the right spots. There would be no dress rehearsal.

We went to the primary room and I played prelude and a few practice songs until we could file on down into the chapel. We went through everyone's parts with great brevity, and the special bits of the songs had a really fast run through. It looked like it was all coming together in a quick-patch sort of way. Our class, the Sunbeams, was having the roughest time with sitting still, as was to be expected. We have one little girl who NEVER sits in her seat. She's the daughter of the primary chorister, so she follows her mom around everywhere and refuses to stay put. I play the piano, and Man holds our baby and tries to keep order, so she's not only the squeaky wheel, she's the popped hubcap that's fleeing across the cow pasture next to the highway. We're working with her.

During practice she wouldn't keep her seat or say anything into the microphone and ran out of the chapel several times to find her sympathetic father since all of the people in the room who have the authority to check her had their hands completely full. Oh, well. Kids were largely remembering their lines and one kind teacher ended up being the stage-whisper lady for the ones who needed a nudge.

After a practice that took 44 mins, we headed back to the primary room where the kids got a heavy snack of crackers, cheese, fruit, and water. It was a great idea. It made them all happy and tired enough that they actually sat pretty still during sacrament meeting.

The kids sat on the stand from the beginning of the meeting. Man sat with our class while I had Pebbles and Freida on a pew, and a sub played the piano. It was the first sacrament meeting in YEARS where I've been able to just close my eyes and meditate. It was wonderful.

The program started out with a narration from one of two older boys, and kids started saying their parts into the microphone. Tag had a line during the "things I love about this world" part: "I like walking to school and seeing the sunrise. It's cool looking."

The idea the leaders had this year was to ask the kids questions relating to the primary program, write down their actual responses, and let them say those during the program. It was brilliant.

Other kids:
I like airplanes and jets.
I like rain and sand, and playing in them.
I like my toys and I like to play with my baby.

Except, the last bit was rushed and whispered and ended up sounding like "I like to play with my peepee."

Oh, did I mention that because of the flip-flop that we had the single's ward with us? They were a great audience.

We got to that little girl's turn at the microphone and wonder of wonders she happily said her part! Her mother was thrilled. But then she wouldn't get down from the lectern. Her mom gestured her away. S shook her head. Her mom jerked her hands in a gesture that appeared to mean "kid, please, just step away from the darn step stool." S shook her head and smiled coyly. The Stage Whisper lady eventually came and peeled her away with just a little resistance.

The program progressed with some great special musical guests to cover the kids' lack of knowing words to extra verses, but it really enhanced the whole experience. The bishopric sang the second two verses of Tell Me the Stories of Jesus while the kids "oooo'd" which was just perfect. The missionaries sang the second verse of Called To Serve. One older child sang the third verse to If The Savior Stood Beside Me. She did a fantastic job. The H family got to sing the second verse of I Love to See The Temple.

Ok, let's backtrack about 20 years real quick.

My family used to sing songs before bedtime. We sang I Love To See the Temple and it went like this:

I love to see the temple
I'm going there some day
To feel the Holy Spirit
To listen and to pray
For the temple is a holy place
Where we are sealed together
As a child of God I've learned this truth:
A family is forever.

However, some smart boy decided to split that verse in half, make up some more words, and thus we now have two verses that go like this:

I love to see the temple
I'm going there some day
To feel the Holy Spirit
To listen and to pray
For the temple is the house of God
A place of love and beauty
I'll prepare myself while I am young
This is my sacred duty

I love to see the temple
I'll go inside some day
I'll covenant with my Father
I'll promise to obey
For the temple is a holy place
Where we are sealed together
As a child of God I've learned this truth
A family is forever.

So, Man and I have been practicing as a family for the past two weeks. We got the words perfect, the kids knew the words, Man had worked out his own wonderful harmony and we were ready.

For the actual singing of the song, we (who have come to be known as the Other Osmonds, no, not my idea) had a total flashback experience to our own childhood primary programs and TOTALLY bombed the words in the middle. We recovered and smiled and wondered if the other adults who learned the other words felt our pain. Maybe it'll keep us from being asked to duet for a while. lol

At some point during the program I noticed that we had fewer and fewer Sunbeams on the stand. I realized our big mistake: they all had a big snack and a drink and we forgot to take them to the bathroom before sacrament meeting. They had gone for two and a half hours without a bathroom break and, right in the middle of it all, they took turns asking my pained-looking husband if they could go use the potty right now. A couple of parents from the congregation got up from their seats to see that the wee ones behaved themselves in the bathroom and soon all was restored. The older kids didn't bat an eyelash. It all went smoothly.

Anyway, Tag had two parts. The second part was about what they loved about their families. Tag's reply: I like that we eat food together, like pie and ice cream. That got a laugh. So did the kid who said "I like my family because of the TREATS." And of course there was the obligatory kid who stared at the congregation like a deer in headlights, while the Stage Whisper lady tried to get their attention. The kid sort of half-smiles then says "WHAT?" really loudly into the microphone. It happens every year and it always evokes a laugh, especially from the young singles. This year, it was our kid. He looked so entranced by all those faces just staring at him. Imagine that: Tag loved the attention of 150 people people on him all at once. There were several kids who, though faced with all those grownups while they were seated, looked visibly startled to walk to the lectern and find that the grownups were still there and, what's more, there were more of them than they could see from their seats.

Princess said her lines wonderfully (lines she wrote herself) and she read a talk on the Holy Ghost that we made together. She was struggling with a couple of the words during practice, but didn't need help with them at all during the program. She read them perfectly. I was so proud of her and she glowed.

The congregation joined in for the second two verses of We Thank Thee O God For a Prophet and then the closing hymn was If The Savior Stood Beside Me Part Deux, with the congregation singing the whole song. It was a very moving experience to see so much participation from so many different aspects of our little ward family. All of the stress was worth those 40 minutes. The kids did such a great job, the songs turned out great, and there wasn't a dry eye in the room by the time we got done singing together.

And it bears repeating: kids say the darndest things.