I have sold my soul to... a creative mormon booklet of FHE ideas. Yes, I joined an FHE group and I feel so odd. Last night, all 5 of us met and the one girl had five sterilite containers full of file folders, all different colors, with the theme written on tabs with very Primary President handwriting. I felt pressured-- so I reluctantly said I would join, with a fake smile and all the energy deep inside that I could express, which came out as a small puff of smoke/air. Then I took a deep breath and pictured myself coloring pictures of people paying tithing and taking the sacrament, laminating them, and gluing them on popsicle sticks, then making up a game like "familopily", or "tithing twister". THEN attaching a story about "Timothy Tithing" and how he gave a tenth of his cookies to the "tithing tree", or something. As you can see, I'm not good at this!
Just when I thought it wouldn't get any worse, one of them said something about, "make sure you have an activity, lesson, and a game so we have all the components of FHE!" and it took me straight back to my attempt at joining a preschool group last spring and every activity had to be at least 15 minutes and no longer than 17 minutes with 90 seconds alotted for cleanup time. I just don't work well in these types of situations. I'm such a slacker. Whatever happened to the FHE where you walk to a grassy knoll and talk about the future as a family? Yes, my kids do think I'm boring.
I like to be a liquid and I like to pour myself at will, and I can just fit in wherever I end up, right? But in a situation like this, I feel like they are combs and I am a comb, and I need to fit right in with their FHE combs or I'm ousted. If I forget to pick a themed opening song, I will be broken in half. I mean my comb will.
Anyway, with every breath I breathe I am easing closer to adulthood and I can't understand why I resist it so much- Taking an FHE idea from lds.org is not difficult and my kids would love it, it just makes me sort of nauseous... maybe it makes me feel like, I FOR SURE, WITH NO DOUBT, AND WITH ABSOLUTE TRUTH, LIVE IN UTAH (not that there's anything wrong with that!). Not only Utah, but in a ward that has like, a million nurseries and primaries.
I have a month to get mine done. A month to have instestinal problems whenever I think about it. I need to shake this off. Any ideas from those more creative would be helpful.
8 comments:
Ya, I haven't commited to any of those FHE groups yet either. I let Alex give our lesson last FHE. I figure, at least we're having them. That's a start right?
i just inherited the FHE packets that my mother used for us...granted the articles are somewhat out of date, but I'm cool with it for now...I'm with you on thinking by giving in it'll make me feel like i'm conforming to that "other" group of ladies in the ward...you know the ones that don't consider themselves "Students" or whatever ...but if you're intrested I can send you the info via email...lesson, desert, song, chart, you name, I have it!
Oh Sarah, I feel for you. I actually joined a FHE group when we lived in Denver (ironically, all the other women were from Utah). I stressed out about trying to make mine perfect and ended up with quite a few from other people that were, let's just say not that great. At all. It was such a pain.
I've been invited to join a few groups since then and politely decline. I get WAY too stressed when my kids are perfectly fine with looking at a picture from the scriptures and talking about it!
Good luck with those intestinal problems! The funny thing is that I totally know the feeling. I had the same one when I first joined my FHE group!
a walk and conversation about the family future sounds like a perfect FHE to me.
Our FHE's at my house are not even close to being structured. We like it that way. It may last 15 minutes it may last 45..it depends. The only thing that is consistent is the opening and closing prayer and songs(which we barely get through because we are all laughing so hard at how awful we sound!) All-in-all, we are happy just making our family home evenings relative to what is going on in our lives at that moment, not the topic that we planned 6 months ago with our "1 year of FHE's Plan" We are silly but serious when it counts, we don't worry about time or structure. Not for everyone but we enjoy ourselves!
Puh-lease. You're going to be fabulous. Your daughters will have rock-star testimonies when this is all over. And the answer is no, but thanks for your concern!
I was in a FHE group. I can send you lesson plans if you need then. Complete with activity and treat suggestion. Just let me know and I will scan things in.
That is cool that you are making those packets. I would love to see what you did. I need the structure for myself in family home evening. I do understand your whole UTAH thing though. Growing up away from it is good it makes you appericate how you got your own testimony.
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