On Saturday morning there was a stake activity for the relief society sisters and the primary children at the London England Temple.  

For the last few years in our ward in Kuna the RS quit having “children’s classes” at RS activities.  (Meaning there was no longer a place to leave your children if you wanted to attend or participate in the activity.)  I’d heard the reason given as an expectation for the husband’s to take responsibility for the kids.   During the years that Richard traveled quite a bit this was a problem for me.  There was usually an option to call a member of the RS presidency and she would coordinate a babysitter for you, but this required advanced planning (which I’m no good at) and a phone call to arrange childcare (the bane of my existence, yeah?).   

I was thinking about this temple activity and wondering why the stake was offering childcare for the women to go to the temple, because shouldn’t the husbands just take responsibility?  Then I realized how many single mums there are in my ward, and probably the stake, and I felt really grateful for this inclusive and supportive gesture.  

Unfortunately my recommend is packed away in a bag that is still crossing the ocean, but I wanted to see the temple and wanted my kids to have the chance to also, so I decided to go and just tag along with the primary.  We left Simon behind with Richard and Cameron, Eli and I rode with a new friend (Yay a friend!) of mine.  It was so nice for me to chat with an adult woman again.  She is from the U.S. and married to a Brazilian who has two British daughters from a previous marriage.   She and her husband were actually sealed that morning. 

We arrived early so the kids and I just walked around for a bit while we waited for the primary activity to start.  

We made our way back to the Visitors Centre where we were supposed to meet for the activity.  We sat there for nearly an hour, waiting for everyone to come, including the leaders who had an organized plan.  Once everyone arrived we played a get-to-know you game out on the lawn.  Then we took a tour of the temple grounds, the kids got to step inside the foyer and see the beautiful paintings there, and then we made our way back to the Visitors Center where we watched a couple videos.  We finished it off with a picnic on the grass and Cameron jumped right into a football game.  Sports are the best way to make immediate friends.  By then it was a bustling, place, families having picnics all over.  It was sunny and warm for the first time all week and we were all soaking it up.  

Miriam is still referring to “brown” people but I’m hoping that before our time here is all said and done this little Idaho girl won’t be quite so aware of those things.  (Idealize much?)  Cameron has asked a lot of questions about different nationalities and I think he finally gets the concept of Indians actually being people from India.  

A couple conversations from the excursion that amused me. 

1- There was a boy wearing a NY Yankees baseball cap. 
Me: “Are you a Yankees fan?”  
Boy: “What’s that?” 
Me: “You have a Yankees baseball hat on.  Do you like the Yankees?”
Boy: “I don’t know what that is.”
Me: “Where did you get your hat?”
Boy:” J.D.”
Me: “Hmm. Okay.” 

2- I brought Miriam back to the Visitors Centre to use the toilet and some of the adults who had finished their sessions were sitting around.  As I walked in several said 

“You’re right Jo.”

I looked around confused and a few people repeated it exactly the same.  So of course I said 

“What am I right about?”  And they all laughed and said 

“No.  Are you a’right?”