Lost

The Primary Program is done for another year!  If you were sitting next to me at this very moment you would actually be able to hear an audible sigh of relief.  It's my 3rd program as President (in 2 different wards) and I've learned that the program practice will always be a disaster and that somehow the kids will always pull it together at the last minute.  Even with the best planning the last few days before the program are a little nerve racking.  Last night I was a little anxious about the program when I received a phone call around 10:00 p.m. from Carrie, my 1st counselor in the primary presidency.  She started talking about how they were lost in the Wellsville mountains and had called search and rescue. . .

Wait, what?!? Say that again! Is this a joke?

Lost. Mountains. Search and Rescue were on their way.  Would be several hours before they even reached them--and the Primary Program was at 9 am the next morning!!!

I must admit this was a first for me.  I've never had a counselor get lost in the mountains the night before the primary program.  So, instead of not being able to sleep because I was running through microphone exchanges and trying to remember if I told the organist to only play on the second verse of a certain song I couldn't sleep because my 1st counselor and her husband were lost on a mountain and not sure when they would get home.  I kept waking up and looking at her house, which is in our same cul-de-sac, to see if they had made it home yet. 1:30a.m., 4:45 a.m., nothing. Finally, at 7:30 a.m. I looked out and saw that they were home.  With the help of amazing search and rescue volunteers they had finally made it home around 6:30 a.m. Instead of going to sleep for only an hour she just stayed up, got her kids ready for the program (grandparents had stayed with the kids during the night) and was at the church by 8:30 a.m.  She could hardly walk after spending 15 hours hiking and her feet were covered in blisters, but she sat with a CTR 5 class whose teacher had been up all night throwing up and no one in the entire congregation except for a few of us had any idea that she had spent the night stranded on a mountain.  I sent her straight home after the program, of course, so it was a good thing it wasn't her week for sharing time or I might have had a heart attack myself.  That is a lot of primary craziness in one day.

I've decided 120 kids in a primary program is a lot.  Oh, and just in case you were wondering the meeting ended EXACTLY on time--to the very minute, in fact.  It may not mean much to you, but I've been fretting about the timing of everything for months.  It's one of my quirks and sometimes it is very annoying.

To add the the excitement Adam was put in as the Elder's Quorum President today, and no, they have no plans to release me any time soon (that is usually the first question people ask). He'll do a great job, but I'm sure there will be a little bit of juggling.


My parents came up to see the kids in the program and ended up filling in for a primary teacher who got sick during the night.  Yes, I actually made my parents teach a last minute lesson while they were visiting.  No rest for the weary, my friends.  If you are standing by me on a Sunday, I'll put you to work!

*Sigh*