Today I taught the (mostly) four-year-olds and I hope I didn’t infect them with whatever horrible disease I seem to have. It was their first Sunday in a new class so we took it nice and slow. I distracted them with coloring projects and managed to tell a few stories and introduce a few concepts (such as what “CTR” means) while they were busily working (and walking all over each other to get to the crayons, etc.). There’s only so much organization you can expect from little people that age. I really enjoyed the class, though. They were concerned about each other and just very genuine and sweet, the way people should be, I think. It’s surprising, and a little sad, how little contact I really have with children, even in a family ward, so it’s nice to get the chance to interact with children from time to time in a setting like Primary. I keep thinking back to an interview I heard with a man who had been in prison with Nelson Mandela for a long time and he said the worst part about being incarcerated was not being around any children for all those years. I, thankfully, can’t imagine how terrible that would be.

 

Other recent highlights include a daytrip to Brainerd yesterday for work purposes, but which also included a gander at Bowling Paul Bunyan and Mini Paul Bunyan (both with an appropriately sized and themed Babe the Blue Ox, of course). Curses! I forgot my camera. Oh well--I’ll just have to go back up there when Talking Paul Bunyan is out of hibernation. Is every state as quirky as Minnesota?