Conference Weekend

As a kid I looked forward to General Conference because the idea of staying in my jammies all day on Sunday and not having to go to church but being able to watch it on TV, was thrilling.

The older I get, the more my excitement about Conference weekend changes. It's not about jammies, TV, and a plethora of snacks and brunches anymore. I get excited to hear the talks, hear what the leaders of the church are focusing their topics on and feeling the spirit. I went into this General Conference with a few specific questions or things that I had been thinking about, and was curious to know if my thoughts would be addressed.

Conference with a toddler is tricky. A certain amount of containment and parental ignoring has to take place and sometimes those things weren't in the cards. On Saturday we spent time as a family and caught up on sessions while Grace slept. We watched Sunday morning together as a family, and made sure to take the coveted "between sessions nap."

On Sunday evening we baked and listened in.

And if you're curious, my topic was addressed. I had been thinking a lot about wanting to be a better parent, looking for specific guidance that would help me. I have a pretty short fuse and I find myself getting frustrated and angry too often. This talk by Elder Wilson was my absolute favorite talk of conference. I felt like it was directed specifically toward me. As a parent this is what I would love to be. He quoted D&C 121, and said "[As parents] we must act "only by persuasion, long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and love unfeigned."" I have thought about that statement many times, the "long-suffering" part sticking out the most. I thought about it today as Grace and I walked down the stairs. This process takes a lot of time. In the past the delay was purely physical, Grace was learning how to walk down the stairs, concentrating, stumbling, and holding my hand. Now her stops are more exploratory. She wants to look at the bugs, make comments about them, stop for sticks, stop when she hears a dog bark, tell me about the gum stuck to the ground. More often than not I find myself at the bottom of the stairs with Grace at the top saying "Hurry Grace, we have to go." while she shouts back "Mom, look at the lady bug, it's sleeping."

Normally I would get frustrated, knowing we were running late, and trudge up the stairs, pick Grace up, and haul her down the stairs. Saying to her, in an annoyed voice, "We have to go." while she asks repeatedly to walk all by herself. But I thought about that quote and wondered what good it would do me or Grace to get annoyed. Getting annoyed and frustrated wouldn't make her walk faster, but would just put us at odds with each other. Perhaps this is what Elder Wilson meant about long suffering. Just waiting and letting Grace explore her surroundings while encouraging her more positively. I don't want Grace to learn frustration and annoyance from me but rather a love for her surroundings. Mind you, this is one single incident, but I strive for the day that I can put my frustrations aside and parent with "love unfeigned." It's definitely not going to happen over-night, but through a lot of hard work I hope I can make it happen.

All in all it was a fabulous conference weekend. I can't wait to re-read all the talks.