I'm coming off of General Conference weekend with a frustrated and discouraged attitude...
I thought I had everything prepared to make it a successful experience...(treat bags, reverence tent, cozy pillows to lounge on, comfy clothes, etc.)
The best way I can describe how I feel right now is this....
(picture sitting in a middle row--on a full flight--with 3 kids climbing over you and pestering each other--interrupting---crying--spilling things--etc.)You know that feeling of being on a long flight that has been delayed and everyone is punchy and crabby and "over it" already?!--That would be my weekend!
I got very little out of the talks because I was so highly irritated with my kids!--I felt like I had zero control over their behavior--it was just like a total free for all!
I'm really feeling like a lousy parent right now because of how things went...
We discussed at dinner ways that we can pay attention more and be more reverent and we decided that there will be no more "nesting" materials, and everyone is going to be required to write at least one thought in a notebook about what the speaker talked about...(with the exception of Ellie--but maybe she can just draw a picture)
Another thought is that perhaps we will go to the church to listen to the Sunday morning session just to break it up a bit...
Everyone is pretty well mannered when we're at church, so maybe this will do the trick...
I did manage to hear bits and pieces of the talks that were given, but was unable to hear any of the talks in their entirety...I look forward to reading them next month when they come out in the Ensign...(One talk in particular that was powerful was the one given by Jeffery Holland...I've always loved him and I thought that this was outstanding)
This flight has officially landed! Bye Bye!
**Has this ever happened to you?
**Do you find that watching conference at home is more distracting?
**How often do you flip out?
My problems with Conference is that I always fall asleep during the afternoon session.
ReplyDeleteHaving the luxury of watching conference at home has made us a bit lax, i think. We still watch it, but I get easily distracted. I was able to see the first talk of the afternoon , then IT (josie) woke up. we set up a box that she sat in for a while, then when Pres. Monson came on, i put some music on for her in her room and gave her some books. I heard most of that! I guess you can't expect too much from a 2 year old. :)
ReplyDeleteI guess it is a good thing it comes out in print next month. :)
I can totally relate to your conference frustrations. As the mom of six kids I can truly testify of the power of conference on littles. It is hard, it is tough, but it is worth it.
ReplyDeletewhen your teens & married children are excited to hear from the prophet etc.- you will know all the effort put into making conference special will be worth it. There is nothing like watching conference & knowing your missionary son it too, even if he is half a world away. I guess I know you know all of this... just a reminder & hopefully some encouragement. It will get better-i've been there.
Thank you for your sweet comments today on my blog. I'm glad you got the package!
your analogy of the inflight troubles is making me just a little nervous for our trip ;) I hope we don't get delayed!
I feel your pain. We did go to church this morning for the first session,and the kids did great. They sat quietly and colored and listened to conference for the entire two hours (with the exception of my almost two year old). I suggested the reverence tent, but both boys yelled, "we don't want a reverence tent!" Whenever we put our tent up in the livingroom it is for pure fun, so a reverence tent doesn't sound too exciting. Good luck next year, and the fact that you tried to listen to conference with your kids makes you a great mom!
ReplyDeleteThat is what happen to me also...through some of it, and it DOES get way frustrating. So we turn it up...REALLY REALLY loud!
ReplyDeleteBut reading it will be go also... :)
I live for Conference weekends and have tried to instill in my children a love of Conference. Usually things go pretty well, but today my 10 and 15 year-olds starting bickering near the end of the morning session. I get so frustrated! And it was right during the very moving closing song with the photo montage of President Monson. I'm going to have us re-watch the closing song on DVR for FHE tomorrow. I also can't wait to download the broadcasts to my iPod.
ReplyDeleteYes--I "flip out" more often than I'd like to admit.
oh man. i get you. and there is some solace for me in knowing i may not be the only one who was desperately trying to listen- but having trouble due to child-antics. (and i only have one!). the only thing that kept me home and not at church was knowing the struggle in the pew would drive me to drive right home.
ReplyDeleteand so. i resorted to allowing my child to watch pbs cartoons all morning. i required him to come sit and listen while the prophet spoke this afternoon...and in the meantime, our time-out count for the past 2 days has risen to #s unprecedented.
there are blessings for trying, right? i hope so. and thankfully there will be opportunity to read what i did not hear...
and dude, i flip out more than i like to. :)
We hooked up Stephan's computer to the TV, so it was really cool to be able to see it on TV. My sleeping patterns are still messed up, so that I fall asleep in the late afternoon, early evening, so no matter how hard I tried to stay awake, I fell asleep and missed probably half of conference. Good thing it is coming out in written form soon.
ReplyDeleteAt least you try! I don't even come close... I always wait for the Ensign to come out. I do so much better with reading than with listening.
ReplyDeleteBrenden's mom was very passive-aggressive with the whole conference-on-tv thing when he was young... she'd turn on every tv in the house, turn it all the way up, and no one was allowed to close their bedroom doors or turn on music or anything else that would impede their "accidental" overhearing of conference.
Yeah, I still don't know what I'm going to do with my kids. Probably not that, though.
You are a good mom, don't sell yourself short. Your kids are still little and it is difficult for them to sit still at home when they are usually allowed to roam free.
ReplyDeleteI too got very little out of conference. For some reason (was it a full moon?) my two youngest went at it the entire time. Talking loudly, short outbursts. My husband went to his room and shut the door to listen in peace. I mean really!! That left me to handle the bickering! It was his birthday so I suppose I will go easy on him!
we talked alot yesterday- so you know some of my thoughts on this. i think preparing yourself is half the battle- more than awesome talks your kids will remember the feelings they had during conference when they get older-, but it's important to stress the importance of conference- we do carry the conference issues around with our scriptures.
ReplyDeleteI've had surprisingly good experience with my kids and conference. Or maybe I'm just good at tuning them out. (I think I am good at that.) But we have them watch all four sessions and they can color and play conference bingo while they watch. And we threaten them that they'll have to sit on their beds if they talk during conference, when it's done. :) But it's pretty peaceful.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you just needed to make your banana rum dessert as a pre-conference treat ;)
I hope that you get to read the talks. They were most uplifting and inspiring. They really put things into a good perspective for me.
You've been having a very stressful month. I think . . . maybe next time you ought to bring the radio into your bathroom and fill up the tub and listen to conference while taking a bubble bath. And let your husband help the kids appreciate conference on the other side of a locked door. :) Sometimes it is just hard to relax. Don't be too hard on yourself. But I do hope you get to read it. It really was really good.
I definitely do have my flip out moments. Doesn't everyone flip out sometimes?
This happens to me every time, but mostly I'm at fault. Not the kids. Sitting at home, I think I need to be doing something like laundry or cooking. I'm a fiddler. I think I would do better at church.
ReplyDeletewe get far more out of it at church, but that said we stay home watch it on the computer and i am annoyed with the kids. really, all this contention to feel the spirit? hmmm...
ReplyDeleteSorry it didn't quite go as planned and ended up being stressful. Your idea for part of it next time might help break things up a bit and give them a different environment.
ReplyDeleteHope you have decompressed from all of that--think happy mulch thoughts!! :)
I feel your pain...we always really struggle because of the childrens' age ranges...and a myriad other reasons too. I am just looking forward to getting to read half the things I didn't get to hear!
ReplyDeleteShannon, I can totally relate! I liked it when they started seminary as their teacher usually assigned them to listen and take notes during conference. It pays off when they are adults! I discovered the miracle of streaming and you can watch conference anytime by logging into lds.org and clicking on conference! That is, if you have time. But you can watch one talk at a time.
ReplyDeleteYou're cracking me up with the plane analogy - I can relate all too well to that. You still need to tell me about the lady nursing her pet. Really? The visual makes me snicker.
ReplyDeletepatsy and janae have been telling me about your blog for a long time now - what took me so long?! i'm so glad i visited, and i'm dying over your duck photo banner.
ReplyDeletei'm sorry conference weekend wasn't what you hoped for. now that the kids are older it isn't as much of a fight to get them to sit still - some of them even take notes! it's worth the grief at the beginning to get them into the good habit of making that weekend a priority.
i totally hear you about the plane ride though...oh man, why did i ever travel when the kids were little? good news is that, even travelling gets easier...eventually!
glad i finally caught up with your darling blog!
I don't even have enough fingers to count how many times I have been so frustrated after watching Conference because of children fighting and being noisy, or touching each other, or getting more treats than the other one. It could go on and on. Eventually they grew up and moved away. The reward came just last Conference when my daughter said she was going to miss watching it with the family and miss all the special treats that I would do just for this day.
ReplyDeleteHang in there. It will pay off someday. It just won't be soon. The kids really will appreciate your efforts. We can never quit trying.
Now that my kids are older, it is much easier, but when they were little they drove me crazy too. We tried to make it a fun day but that didn't always work. I started getting to where when they were little they only had to watch on Sunday. Hang in there it is worth it.
ReplyDelete.....based on 21 comments, I guess you have a lot of sympathizers!! It's way too late to read them all, I'm so far behind in catching up on my favorite blogs!
ReplyDeleteAt this time, I do not have the distractions of young children, although my grandson who is not a member and actually has no tolerance for the likes of religion(!) "watched" with us. I had to shush him several times, but all in all it was a great recovery time from a stressful week leading up to Conference.
I can relate all too well with the flight analogy! Yikes. All I can say is persevere, Shannon. I pull out my kids' Easter baskets and fill them with snacks, paper, crayons, colored pencils, Conference bingo and packets, etc. It's amazing how excited they get by those baskets, when I don't even get anything new to put in them!
ReplyDeleteIt does take some time, but eventually they will come to enjoy watching Conference as a family. You will prevail!
We didn't have a problem with the kids for Conference this year, but our Easter gathering at my parents' house tonight was fairly obnoxious because of the kids. I will say that it wasn't MY kids that were the problem, but I find I'm annoyed by kids in general a good bit of the time. It feels like a character flaw to me, but I think it's aggravated right now because of my cough. I'm pissed.
ReplyDelete