the primary presentation...

...fall is definitely my favorite time of year. there are the obvious reasons--beautiful leaves, the crisp cool air, pumpkin patches, apple hill, my birthday...etc. however, there is one event in particular we must not forget....the beloved primary presentation. 

in years past i have been spoiled as strictly a member of the audience. who doesn't love showing up to church on sunday and being surprised with the fact that for over an hour you are going to be entertained by numerous amounts of stage hungry children? then a couple of years ago my role switched to that of a parent. this was a bit of a different experience--listening to my four-year-old try to sing a duet in her scruffy baritone was quite the show. i have never put much thought into how much time and energy is put into one of these programs...until this year. 

first off, our mini primary (which is actually two wards combined) in the heart of san francisco is no byu student family ward, or even a suburban old-school get-up. we have the usual over-crowded sunbeam class (thanks to the dental students), a tiny 4-5 year-old class that we sometimes snatch sunbeams for as to not make it so awkward for the one-on-one teaching experience. quite a large group of 5-6 year olds (thanks to the couples married between the years of 2000 and 2001 and the 'older' dental students) and about 10 other kids ranging from ages 7-12(thanks to our s.f. native bishop and his family). let's face it, our primary is in a league of it's own and i feel very very lucky to be involved. people would pay to be in our primary room on sunday's and they would wait in line if we offered tickets for our primary presentation. but good news is, it's always free. if you are in the area on sunday, septemeber 21st, i highly recommend you show up to our golden gate/bay ward primary presentation at the church building on pacific and gough. you will be thoroughly entertained in many ways. 

you can always count on the sunbeams in the front row. they are either waving and yelling to their parents in the crowd, sinking low into their chairs because they are humiliated, picking their noses and clueless to the fact that there are over 150 people watching them, or pushing and pulling at the poor runt at their left until she(he) is in tears. then there is the next age group who's singing voices have changed to something a little louder and less reverent(hoping to reach the 10 mark on the sing-o-meter). then the final group of children ages 10-12 who are either hiding behind the child in front of them or wondering why their 12th birthday had not come sooner and awaiting the surprise their parents promised them if they are cooperative. 

what it all comes down to in the end is, primary is the greatest calling in church. hands. down. i have not served in primary since i was 18 and in nursery until this year. i wasn't really excited about the call but now i would be devastated to leave. i am in love with the tenderness of these little wretches, they are heaven sent. i will never again over-look the hard work that goes into these programs, especially from the chorister-props to rebecca. if you are not able to make it this sunday i am sure i will be giving a preview in the days to follow. here is a pre-cursor to the big event-emilia has a solo in the program where she sings the second verse to 'families can be together forever'. she was practicing yesterday before church and after singing the first line in the chorus, 'families can be together forever', she stops and says, 'we are not always together mom, sometimes you drop me off at rebecca's when you go pick up julia from school.' oh yes, this sunday is going to be a good one.