Lunch with a GA

Last weekend we had our stake conference. Elder Spencer Condie was the visiting General Authority. Brady and I got to have dinner with him and the rest of the stake presidency on Saturday night before the adult session. He and his wife were a joy to be around.

On Sunday Brady insisted on driving together, saying that their little "post conference wrap up" luncheon would only take a short time and me and the kids could wait around in the foyer. I was fine with that. Well, call it miscommunication, confusion, whatever, but the sack lunch for the presidency and Elder Condie turned into a sit-down lunch including wives and they all wondered why I wasn't with Brady. When he told them I was in the foyer with five kids, Elder Condie insisted we all come in. Brady came out to get us and I told him we were just fine waiting for him. We would go for a walk, a drive, just hang out in the foyer reading the Friend and New Era I had brought.

Two minutes later Elder Condie was in the foyer, shooing us into the high council room. When I started to protest, he said, "Now go on with you, be obedient!" Yes Sir! So, me and my entourage settled at the other end of the high council table and ate delicious BBQ pork sandwiches and brownies with marshmallows and frosting on top.

You know all those times you try to reinforce manners and proper behavior at the dinner table and you're sure your kids are going to be with you forever because after their first date at a restaruant, their date is going to bring them right back and say, "no thanks"? Well, our lunch with a General Authority proved that my kids ARE learning! No one said "yuck," no one wiped their mouth with their sleeve, no one burped, in fact, the kids hardly made a peep! Now I need to work on dinner conversation I guess. But they proved there were manners in there somewhere! Whew, what a relief.