Church

Yesterday, when we were getting ready for church, Matthew talked me into letting him come. I'm worried about his counts and having him in a crowd, but he's been so bored - and so lonely! So I told him he could come if he would wear a mask. He agreed, and we hurried and got him dressed. My plan was to bring him for sacrament meeting, and then bring him home to Justin so the rest of us could go to our classes.

Matthew had other plans.

After sacrament meeting, he took careful tabs on where everyone else went, and informed me we were going to his classroom. Boy, once he decides something like that, it's like holding back the ocean to try and change his mind. My choices were to let him go to class or take him home kicking and screaming. So I went to where his class would be, and realized that the whole Primary was practicing for the program together. No classes for the day. That was perfect, because I feel better about a bigger room, even though it's a bigger crowd, because the kids aren't face to face as much. So, I went in with him to help. Truth be told, I know my way around Primary better anyway, after all those years of serving in there. So I sat with Matthew for the whole two hours. He kept his mask on without a fight at all, which surprised me. At one point, he got really sick of it, and started to fuss about it, and I showed him a different kind that I had in my purse, and he was happy. The first one was harder, and had two elastics that go behind your head - one at the neck, and one above the ears. The second was softer, and had two elastics that hook behind your ears. He was happy for a different feeling mask, and wore it the rest of the time.

He wholeheartedly participated in all the standing and sitting, singing, and talking, and he was so anxious for his turn to "talk in the talkie talk," as he puts it, which is to talk into the microphone at the pulpit.

After they got through a single run of the program, I talked to the kids for a few minutes about Matthew's cancer. I was worried that I would say something that would scare them, but their questions were so sweet and innocent. Mostly, they wondered about his hair, what the mask does to protect him, and why germs are so dangerous to him. One sweet girl asked how he got sick in the first place. Soon, the conversation started to turn to times when they all have been sick, so I turned the time back over to the Chorister. At that point, Matthew was completely overstimulated, so we left. But that was only 10 minutes early, so I really consider it a success.

I think we may be onto a good thing here. He needs an outing like that once a week, and what better place to get it than Primary! I wonder if we'll ever get to the point where we can leave him in Primary without me? And I thought I was going to go to relief society, now that I was finally released from Primary! Ha! We'll see...