One at a time

Yesterday after school, I was taking a group of seven youth to the temple.  One signed up, forgetting he had driver's ed. so he had to cancel.  Most of the rest of them (including Mark) were too sick to go. It turned out I was taking one girl.  Haley and I went together.  She is twelve and I like her.  She is at ease with adults and talked comfortably with me about her classes, what she liked and what she didn't.  She hasn't been to the temple too many times so she said she was disappointed no one else was there.  She said, "I'm afraid I'll forget the process."

I described it to her.  I said, "Does that make sense?"

"No," she said, "tell me again."

So I did.  "You got it?" I asked.

"Yes."

We were back to chatting about all sorts of other things.  She coincidentally has the same last name as me and I thought as they were checking our recommends that I wouldn't mind if people thought she were my daughter.

I settled into a chair with an Ensign magazine while I waited for Haley to do proxy baptisms.  She handed me her glasses to hold and sought my reassurance a few times from across the room.

As we were leaving the temple, she commented on the fog.  I said something about it being an inversion and she said, "I don't know what that is?  Is that science?"  (She said it like science tasted bad in her mouth.)

"No," I said, "It's weather." (Which is maybe science, but whatever.)

I told her I love weather and I told her what an inversion means.  We cranked up the heat in the van and she started telling me about her love for horses.  As we climbed the mountain toward our homes, we came up out of the fog a little and I pointed to the blue sky above the mountain.  "See?" I said, "Inversion."

"That's cool!" she said.

"I know!  Weather!"

Then she laughed at me a little because what kind of nerd loves weather and said, "Can I tell you more about horses?"

I said yes.

I dropped her off and told her I'd see her Sunday.  I felt happy as I watched her long blonde hair swing behind her as she walked up her sidewalk.

Sometimes being young women's president is overwhelming and hard and frustrating.  I need to remember these girls one on one.  One on one they are the same.  We all are.  We need reassurance for new experiences and want someone to be interested in what we care about.

One on one I am less intimidated.