I always look forward to General Conference weekend. It's like a free weekend in my head. The perfect excuse to cancel anything I want so I can stay home with my family and be spiritually fed. It seems like six months goes by so slowly sometimes at which point I find myself grateful for the Ensign--to rejuvenate my soul and recapture the true purpose of life as it seems to escape me every now and then.
We prepared by getting all our cleaning done Friday. I was really proud of the kids efforts to get all the Saturday chores done early so we could enjoy the rest of the time during the weekend. I say we but I mean me--I suppose the kids could have cared less if the toilets were dirty and the floors left unvacuumed. But troopers they were and by Friday night we were set for a great weekend!
Saturday we did squeak in Bradley's soccer game. (It was conveniently played in between sessions). But the rest of the day was great. It is so fun to see Bradley and Bryson be more attentive each General Conference. They love to play Conference Bingo but the way I knew they were really listening was the food for the Bingo chips was still there at the end of the session. That my friends is a true sign of maturity for a boy! Scott went off to the Priesthood session with Chris, Dad and Grandpa and said it was a really great session. Can't wait to read it next month.
As luck would have it, our luck ran out at that point. Blake woke up Sunday morning with Pink Eye. We were set to go to Chris and Cassi's for breakfast before the Sunday morning session started. Fortunately, (our last bit of luck) Blake was the last one up so his only interaction with people was giving Brock a hug from behind--which is when I bent down to say "Good Morning" and screamed inside my head instead. After changing Brock's pajammies (as Blake calls them), Scott shuttled everyone else to Chris & Cassi's and I stayed back with Blake. And that is where my quiet Conference weekend came to a brief end. The laundry was inevitable--sheets had to be washed, towels from the previous night had to be washed. Suddenly I looked around my house and saw germs crawling everywhere. Determined not to have this break to epidemic proportions (every mother's nightmare which I have lived through before and would not care to repeat) I sent Scott to pick up the perscription of eye drops and Lysol disinfectant spray. At this point I should do a shout out to Dad for a) answering his phone early Sunday morning from his yet again needy daughter and b) calling in the script so quickly so we could start the drops as early as we did. Love you DAD!!!
When Scott returned with the eye drops and spray I first pinned Blake down telling him this would tickle his eyes. He laughed a little during the first eye but the joke was over for the second. (Only one eye showed symptoms of conjunctiveitis but this momma was taking no chances!) But we lived through it and that's when I began to spray every available surface of the house. If it didn't kill the bacteria I at least wanted to hurt it a lot!
I quarantined Blake downstairs in his room where he remained for the next 48 hours except to eat. We washed hands so much both our hands were dry and cracking! At the time, I felt bad for him having to be downstairs by himself so I watched what was left of the morning session down there with him. Hindsight tells me he didn't have it too bad because he was in his room playing his v.smile for a hour and a half and didn't complain once. I'm not sure he even noticed I was down there with him.
Smart Mommy tip: give kids with pink eye something to play with where their hands are totally engaged--like a v.smile. I'm sure that kept him from rubbing his eyes, face and everything else and spreading germs like the plague!
Everyone came home for lunch and the afternoon session and we discussed with Bradley and Bryson the precautions of Pink Eye. This led to them yelling out everytime they saw Blake "Mom! It's Blake! He's got germs! Get him away! I don't want his germs!" Nice. We got everyone settled down again (even Brock was kind enough to take a nap for us) and enjoyed the last session. Ok, I was so exhausted I slept through part of it--but I didn't snore like Scott did. When I did wake up I was again so proud of Bradley and Bryson. There they were with their Conference Bingo sheets and papers Chris had copied for them paying much better attention than their parents! When conference was over I asked Bryson what President Monson said and he said "He said for us to pray for him." That was a conference miracle. It wasn't just about the bingo game. That one little part was internalized and my son had a spiritual awakening. He knew that the Prophet had asked him to pray for him. And that alone was worth all the hassel of Pink Eye!
I had my own "Awakening" moment Sunday. Putting Brock down for his nap it all came together for me. That overwhelming feeling of family, love and purpose. This is what it is all about. Helping one another, comforting one another and sharing with one another. The laundry and Pink Eye will come and go but hanging on to special memories is eternal. For many reasons I will remember and cherish this Conference Weekend always.
