Be careful what you wish for...

...because it might come true, and it might be even more fun than you imagined.

Which is what happened to me today.

Back story, I have on occasion joked that the best ever Sunday for me would be if I got to speak in Sacrament Meeting, then teach Sunday School, and then teach Relief Society. For those readers not of my faith, our church does not have a paid clergy, so no pastor to speak every week. Instead, all the members of the congregation get a turn. And it's my favorite! For real. However, I am in a tiny minority. Most people, it seems, do not love to speak in Sacrament Meeting. They do it, but they don't love it. I love it.

So when the bishopric asked me to speak on the topic of women and their influence on society and in the world, I was super stoked. But I never imagined my dream of a 3-hour block, speaking and teaching every hour would come true. I teach in the 2nd hour every week, a class called "Gospel Essentials," for those learning about our church, new members, missionaries, and a few others who just like the class. But I only teach in Relief Society (3rd hour) on the fourth Sunday, and today is obviously not the fourth Sunday. However, a week or so ago, the Relief Society President asked me if I would lead a discussion about a couple of women from the scriptures. They wanted something special, something fun, because all the women and young women in the ward would be present. The men were substituting in primary classes to give all the women a break for Mother's Day.

Woo hoo! My dream Sunday.

So I went straight to work figuring out my talk, along with thinking about what I might do for Relief Society. In the middle of the night one day last week, I woke Gerald up and asked him to think of a woman in scripture that we don't know much about, someone who would be fun to learn about. His first thought: Abish from the Book of Alma. As we read the story, we both immediately thought how perfectly it was suited to melodrama. And it was! So I narrated, and Gerald played King Lamoni, and Shulamith played the queen. Seth played Ammon, and our friend Kara had the starring role as Abish. It was fun and funny and fabulous.

My talk was also fun, and my Gospel Essentials lesson included great contributions from class members, old and new. It really was my dream Sunday, and I enjoyed every second.

Now we are off to Macaroni Grill. And before you judge me, no, we do not typically go out to eat on Sunday. It is the one day of the week I always cook dinner for everyone. However, once again, just like on Valentine's  Day, this restaurant can't manage without my kids. They convinced Eli to come home from Rexburg to work. The convinced Isaiah to come in, even though he has a 5:30 am (!) flight to Toronto tomorrow morning. They even convinced Shulamith to work. And they offered free food for Gerald, Seth, and me if I loaned them my children for Mother's Day. So yeah, we are going!

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers in my life: my mom, Gerald's mom, Shulamith, and all my friends who are such amazing mothers. I hope your day is the happiest!