Lack of Personal Dignity

It's been about a week since my last real post... nothing huge has happened. Oh, except I read a book! I don't read too many new books lately, I have a very hard time concentrating and a very hard time keeping track of what all is going on... book-wise and life-wise. Huh, I used to be pretty smart. I also used to have short term memory retention. And bladder control. And actual proper sentence structure.

I feel like a freaking sieve.

Yesterday morning we awoke to an inch or so of snow accumulation... not enough to grace my blog with yet another picture of a snowman, but certainly enough to gripe my very soul down to the nub. As I walked out my front door to teach Relief Society it was still snowing. If I hadn't been desperate to try to keep company of the Holy Spirit I would have let 'er rip with the swears right then... as it was, when I showed up before class started and stood waiting in the hallway for the Sunday School class that was still going to wrap it up and leave, I noticed four women waiting as well. Older women... well, older than I but not OLD... sharply dressed... gracious and friendly. Heh, you Mormon women out there are already laughing. You guessed it, the Stake Relief Society Presidency decided to pop in for a visit on the day that "yours truly" was scheduled to teach. Those of you not Mormon? Those ladies are the big wigs for the area, and while they are the most elegant and kind women you could hope to meet and I KNOW would never judge me for a poor lesson... it would have been nice to make a good impression.

The topic of my lesson was "The Blessings of General Conference," and I have a hazy memory of likening my function as the teacher of this lesson, sandwiched as it is between last weeks "Teaching and Learning by the Holy Spirit" and next weeks " General Conference" as that of a cheerleader ... and the lesson itself ? A pep-rally. It's possible that I may have pumped my fist in the air and shouted "Woooo HOO!" but I'm fairly certain that I kept both feet on the ground and did not do any actual cheers with words in them.

"We are the crowd YEAH!
we say it loud YEAH!"

I have an all-too-clear memory of telling everyone that one of the blessings of G.C. was the fact that it was bi-annual and therefore a handy reminder to rotate the water in your food storage... and change the batteries in the smoke alarms.

You didn't! Oh. Yes. I. Did.

It's all I can do not to second guess myself. When I first got this calling to teach in Releif Society (thankfully only once a month) I received the strongest impression that I should play to my strengths. One of my strengths is that I am fairly comfortable in front of people. Possibly a little TOO comfortable yesterday, but there it is. I felt like my job was to loosen everyone up and get them engaged. To get things going, and then step out of the way of the lesson being taught.

On that front I feel like I was successful and that a wonderful lesson was taught yesterday. I know that I'm geared up for Conference... I just sometimes wish, especially when there are new folks that don't already know what's coming at them when I teach... I wish that my strengths included a little more, y'know... personal dignity.