This week, my little sister, Paige, visited the area. She and her husband, Eugene, were staying with the Larsens all week, so I made the trip to hang out with everybody on Saturday. I, of course, had to bake something, and since I know Paige doesn't care for chocolate, I decided to go with strawberry cupcakes. They were a hit with all who tasted them, though Ian was the most vocal about how tasty they were (while I used this recipe for the cupcakes, I made the marshmallow frosting again and mixed in some strawberry jam). It was really fun to hang out with Paige and to get a chance to talk to Eugene a bit more since I haven't been around him a whole lot. All around, it was really good that I made the trip.
And then there's Sunday. Do you remember last week when I had my panic attack that was triggered by some slightly rowdy kids and I had to leave church? Well, I planned ahead and arrived ten minutes early and sat in the third pew from the front. That alone was tremendously helpful and I was able to more fully feel the Spirit. Once we were released, I went to the Sunday School classroom and started writing the scripture references we would be using on the chalkboard. That's when I was asked by someone behind me if I "like the children?" It was the mother from the previous week. That's why she look familiar, she was in my Sunday School class! I explained that her question was a complex one. I said that I had just hung out with my niece and nephew the day before and that I regularly tutor kids in an after school program. She asked if I have children of my own. When I said that I don't, she explained that I looked like I was in a bad mood last Sunday and that she thought it might have been because of her son. I panic and I lied and said that I didn't remember, but that the previous Sunday was a hard day for me and I was in a bad mood for unrelated reasons, which was completely true.
She let it go at that point, but boy did it bother me. I taught the lesson without issue and moved on to Elder's Quorum, but once church was out, I went straight home and made a batch of sugar cookies, frosted them some with the leftover strawberry-marshmallow frosting, put them on a plate and drove to the sister's house to deliver them. I was warmly welcomed by both the sister and her husband. Apparently, she has a very dry sense of humor and was just giving me a hard time, but did it in such a straight-faced way that I had no idea that she was joking. She laughed at the idea that I thought that she was offended and both her and her husband invited me to stay for dinner. I declined since I needed to do some preparations for the rest of the week, but suggested that perhaps in the future we could plan something.
I am happy for this experience. It would have been so easy for me to let it go after she dropped the issue before Sunday School, but I'm glad that I didn't. I reached out and apologized and in the process, got to know someone new. When I mentioned that I was a technical writer (and that I was stressed from work), she shared that she has her own independent publishing company and has published a few children's books. She even asked if I would edit her next book for her. None of this would have happened if I hadn't made the effort to patch things up between us.
While I had a full and busy weekend, it was all time well spent.
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