Conference weekend is over now. I expect I'll probably see a lot of blog posts about how wonderful conference was and which talks were especially inspiring. In fact, I've already seen pictures on Facebook and Pinterest with inspirational quotes from earlier today and yesterday. I think conference is great, but I'm going to be honest. I get a lot less out of conference now that I am a busy toddler mom.
When I was a teen and young adult, before I got married, every conference I would take copious notes on each and every talk, for all 4 sessions. I would sit and listen and do a pretty good job of not nodding off. I would end the weekend feeling inspired and uplifted and confident in my beliefs. I used to love conference weekend. I still do, but things have changed.
Now, while I still love listening to the prophet and apostles, I do not have the opportunity to just sit and listen and take notes anymore. I still have to feed, change, referee, and entertain my girls the whole time conference is going. Before conference started, I told Lia we were going to be listening to the apostles, and that the apostles were Jesus' friends who He asked to speak to us because He can't be here Himself. She got all excited and when conference started, she said, "Where's Jesus, Mom? I want to see Jesus! I want to see Jesus talk to us!" So she was a little confused. And lost interest very quickly after the opening song. Every now and then she would hear a word she knows and repeat it to me: "Holy Ghost, Mom! I heard Holy Ghost!" "Temples, Mommy!" "He said baptized, Mom!" But for the most part, she was much more interested in coloring and eating snacks and playing. Eleanor, of course, didn't know there was anything different going on at all. She ran around and yelled and napped and played and giggled throughout the day, just like every other day.
I didn't make a "Conference Bingo" game, or print out any fun "Conference Coloring Pages," or make any special "Conference Treats," or anything like that. We cleaned up the house Saturday morning because some family was coming to watch conference with us, and that was about it. In a way, I wished I could have made the weekend special and fun and a great learning opportunity. But instead, I did what I've been doing a lot of this past year: I do what I can and don't worry about what I can't.
What I can do, is find a few moments throughout conference to really pay attention, let the Spirit speak to my heart, and feel encouraged and uplifted in that moment. And then run to stop my baby from sticking her finger in the outlet. And then break up a fight between my older daughter and her cousin over the crayons. And then dish out some Cheerios to stop the whining. And then find another moment to sit and listen before the chaos that is my life takes over again. My conference weekend was made up of moments. I wasn't able to sit through all the sessions and quietly listen to and ponder on the words of the prophets, apostles, and other leaders of the Church. But I was still uplifted in those small moments. I still felt the Spirit confirm to me the truth of the Gospel. That's about as good as I can do right now, and right now it's enough.
Good thing they publish the conference talks in print, right?
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