Cory and I weren't able to fly under the radar screen in our new ward for very long. We have recently been called to be Sunbeam teachers in the Primary organization (teaching the 3-year-old class). Our first class was on Jan. 2nd i.e. the very first day when all of the new Sunbeams are coming out of nursery for the first time. Cue the madness.
Our ward has three nurseries (yes, Sacrament meeting is deafening). And subsequently, we have three Sunbeam classes. Cory and I have eight children (all boys!) on our roster - seven of them attend class regularly. I was just released from the Primary Presidency in our ward in Idaho and I must confess that I was hoping to get a break from Primary for a while. But poor Cory - he went from working with the teenage boys to working with those of a much younger demographic. The look of terror on his face that first Sunday was priceless. And to give him credit, I probably would have felt the same way had I been in his shoes.
Junior Primary that first Sunday was a complete zoo. The decibel level was probably close to a seven. There were sobbing children who were scared about this new experience. Wiggly children who weren't accustomed to sitting still and upright in their chairs for 40 minutes straight. A song leader who insisted on teaching a new song for the entire 25 minutes, which led to extreme boredom and cries from the children that they wanted a new song. And my poor husband got stuck sitting directly behind a child who was spitting up in the air and letting the spittle fall to the floor or land on his face. Cory kept looking down at his shoes and then looking at me - and I could tell he wanted to bolt out of that room as fast as possible. In the meantime, I'm wrestling seven children by myself because Cory was frozen to his chair.
We both had to give a talk in Sacrament meeting on the second Sunday of the year. Cory stood up there and told everyone that he wasn't scared to be standing in front of them giving a talk. However, he said he was pretty scared about going into the "lion's den" immediately after Sacrament meeting.
Fast forward to yesterday. When the boys file into the Primary room now, the first thing they do is run to Cory and give him a hug. They all fight to sit next to him. They are so proud to know Brother Johnson's name. And they profess their love to him all the time. I'm just an after-thought at this point. Let's be honest - it's way more cool to come to church and get a fist-bump from Brother Johnson. And that's just fine with me.
