Mary Poppins Bag #2

        I had another Mary Poppins Bag moment last week worthy of sharing.  (see post in November 2012 for explanation of Mary Poppin's Bag).

        Sunday School was canceled due to the World Wide Leadership Training last week.  (FYI and FMBR-for my bragging rights--my nephew is the little boy who is baptized in the video "I'll Go Where You Want Me to Go," if you saw it--if you didn't you can still access it on-line).  Because Sunday School was canceled, Sacrament Meeting was right after Young Women's classes and we had some last minute Girl's Camp stuff to take care, so I was a little late in getting into the chapel for Sacrament Meeting.  Scanning the congregation for a seat, I spotted a partially open bench next to a family with two little boys.  Now there was some strategy involved, because this bench was sandwiched between a family with two little boys the same age in front and a family with four crazy kids in back (I can say crazy, because the mom will not hesitate to agree with that adjective.  They are some of my favorite kids in the ward--they have a lot of great stories. These kids have a mind of their own and they give their parents a run for their money. Well, at least they keep their parents running, whether they get a paycheck or not for parenthood.
          I sat down and soon, another family with four kids sat down next to me.  I knew this was going to be super Sacrament Meeting entertainment at its best. 

        
Thank goodness I had my Mary Poppins bag ready to go.  To the bench in front of me, I passed a Pass-a-Long card of Jesus to quiet the kids during the Sacrament.  To the bench in back of me, I passed a picture to color, and to one of the families sitting next to me, I passes a small, edible for toddlers, board book about Nephi.  A Nursery-age girl from behind surprised me by slithering under the bench and popping up next to me to say hi. I'll change her name to protect the innocent, and her mother, to Hillary. I rummaged through  my bag and found something to keep her quiet. 
          During the musical number, I whispered to Hillary that they were singing about Joseph Smith.  I also told her that she could not slide under that bench again--she needed to go around.  Our conversation continued like this...

     Hillary:  "Whisper something in my ear."
     Me:  "You can't crawl under the bench, it's not reverent, you need to go around."
     Hillary: "Whisper something in my ear"  I finally figured out she said, "There's something IN my ear." 
     Me: "What is in your ear?"
     Hillary: "Candy!"
     Me:  "You don't have candy in your ear, silly!" 
     Hillary: "Yes, I do!  Look!"

             She proceed to stick her finger in her ear, pull out some earwax and eat it!   I completely lost it!  I was laughing so hard I was crying--when the speaker looked at me, he probably thought I was very moved by his talk.   Trying to reverently suppress laughter and tears is very difficult, especially during the closing hymn. 
           Although I didn't pack any candy in my Mary Poppins bag last Sunday, I got to see some. Thanks, Hillary, for the great Sunday entertainment!


Alma 8:28   "And it came to pass that the people did wax more gross in their iniquities." Alma, I know this had nothing to do with iniquity, but this wax was gross!