Ready for a little FOB

What self-respecting parent of some-what young children would sleep til 9:30am, okay closer to 10am on a Saturday morning?  After the week I had, this kid would. And it felt sooo good to sleep that long. I had only a minute of guilt before I woke up to start the most relaxing Saturday in weeks.  And I don't think I was alone.  Kenny was up only a little before me and Elijah slept later than he ever has, probably ever in his life. We were all recuperating.

My lack of writing can be blamed on my week full of KIDS KIDS KIDS at VBS all morning, and then afternoons of long lunches and more kids piling into my van to come over, and then evenings with my own kids and their "so, what are we going to do now?" questions.  Talk about spoiled with activity. How many times did I remind them, "Mom just needs a little break. Just a minute to catch my breath."  And then we'd be gone again.


I love VBS - I said that earlier but for some reason, teaching 150 children in a 3-hour period takes a lot out of me.  And I'm not the only one.  I had friends going home at noon and taking 3-hour-naps.  I saw those exhausted eyes on every volunteer by Thursday, some even earlier than that.   On Friday, everyone had a lift in their step because it was the last day and we had made it!

When I think about our dramatic re-action to 5 little mornings jam-packed with enthusiasm, I begin to wonder how I made it through an entire summer as a counselor at church camp.  At camp, there are rare breaks.  You're responsible from sun-up to sun-down and then some weekends are filled with weekend campers and you're only break is an hour of FOB (flat on bunk) time.

But then I remember, oh yeah, I was much younger then and full of energy and a desire to teach and a love for the outdoors and being in God's creation.

I don't think my love and compassion for the children who came to our VBS has changed at all from when I was twenty and working in the woods surrounded by mosquitos, in fact, as I've gotten older, I find myself more passionate about reaching the kids who come across my path.

So, why are we 30 and 40 somethings so tired when the big finale Friday comes around?
My short answer - 3 Ward kids.
Holy cow, they have energy.  They don't nap, they don't rest, they don't nod off.  There's certainly no FOB time in our house.  And they don't care that I've been working all morning trying to get 150 preschoolers to listen, to absorb the Gospel message and to have fun at the same time.

It takes everything I have to keep up with them.
And then when I say something like that, I feel like 100 years old.
So, I take it back.
I've got a whole summer to keep up with them, oh my, and it's going to take every ounce of energy and prayer I've got.  This week of VBS was just the beginning. And it truly was a great beginning.
I'm ready now.

Well, sort of.  But I'll take a little FOB every now and then.