I'm Dopey

Primary Activity Day was today, and I am glad it is over. Not that it wasn't good and fun, because it was quite. I love getting to do music with actual kids again. And this is why: I act a total fool. I mean TOTAL. I don't know how it happens, but I am blind to the grown-ups in the room, and I play to the kids entirely. It is amazingly fun for me. Probably more fun for me than for the kids. But the stress and planning are over, and it is nice to relax a little.

FOLLOWING IS AN EXPLANATION OF PRIMARY ACTIVITY DAY AND MY INVOLVEMENT.
Just skip it if you know.

Okley dokley. In the LDS church, a congregation is called a ward. A bunch of wards together is a stake. This is all arranged geographically, so you just go to the ward that your area belongs to. Okay, so Primary is the children's Sunday School meeting. The kids meet as a group for a gospel lesson and a singing time, then they go to their individual classes (by age). I was the Primary Chorister in my ward a couple of years ago. BEST CALLING EVER. Oh, the positions you function in are called callings because we are called of the Lord. The leaders of, say, the Primary pray about who should fill the position. When the Spirit helps them pick a name, they submit it to the bishop. The bishopric prays about it, and if they feel the spirit telling them that person is called to that position, then the calling is extended to that person.

Okay, all the positions in the church are voluntary. You can decline a calling. Since there are no clergy, all positions are filled by those who are called and accept. Those persons hold the calling for however long. Then, whenever it happens, they are released from the calling. You never know how long you will serve in the position. Keeps you on your toes.

Alright, now: I was released from Primary Chorister (so sad!!!) and called to be the Stake Primary Music Leader. That means that I help the Primary Choristers in each ward with support and ideas and direction. It's a great calling, and I really like it, but I don't work directly with the children anymore.

The stake Primary board (President, 2 counselors, music lady, and nursery lady) plan and execute one activity day a year. Lots of fun and excitement and crafts and relays and whatnot. (The wards have them a few times a year, too.) SO, at this Primary Activity Day, it was stake, and I got to have a music activity directly with the kids, and it was super super super for me.

BACK TO ME BEING FOOLISH

I jumped. I hollered. I danced the Elaine. I sweat like an aerobics class. Can I get a witness! I did not think once about it. I did not feel one drop of embarrassment or inhibition or self-consciousness.

So, I think that I have a talent. I mean, it is so easy for me to do this with kids. I do it without noticing most of the time. Like, when the fire alarm went off at the gym, and all the scared little kids had to vacate to the cold parking lot, I just started playing with them, and they liked it. I think I sang some sort of Twinkle or Five Little Ducks or something. (I think I got 5 words in before we got the all-clear to go back inside, but I count it anyway.) I usually sing. Kids respond to singing. So, acting the fool works for me. Especially since I don't care what the grown-ups think. Kids like it. I've mentioned before that a trip to the grocery store with the kids is a circus in a basket. Loud singing and hand clap games and fake crying. Oh, fake crying usually stops real crying. Try it out. We take turns.

So, I feel good about myself. Yay callings!