Sneaking In

When Jay was eleven, he went to the Tabernacle for the general priesthood session with his father.  He remembers standing in the long line terrified that his non-priesthood age would be discovered and he’d be booted from the premises.  His worry reached a climax when someone who knew his dad approached them and after the initial words of greeting, Jay recalls him turning and saying, “Well, Jay, I didn’t realize you were already twelve!”

Of course, he was allowed to stay and attend but we laughed as he recounted the story of  “sneaking in.”  I have my own recollections of stress from trying to pretend I’m an age I am not (um....19....78!) but, sadly, my effort to trespass was under less righteous circumstances.

Seth turns twelve in eleven days.  We thought it appropriate that he have his own experience of sneaking in to the priesthood session this conference.  It’s quite dumbfounding to watch him with his father and wonder when he grew so tall or when his face became so narrow.  He still has a few inches to go, but the distance between father and son is shrinking and I have a hunch the taller will become the shorter before long.

Seth has been tying his own ties for years with the half-Windsor method Jay taught him. It is easy to learn and I can even tie my boys ties so that they’ll look good in a pinch, though both are still usually better than me. In a moment of frustration, he complained that his adult sized tie was too long for him and he couldn’t get the length to look right. Jay interceded and took a few moments to teach Seth the full Windsor method that he himself uses.  Sure enough, with that extra loop, the tie was just the right length.

I hope Seth always looks to his father for advice and guidance.  I hope someday he remembers the priesthood session he “snuck” into and tells his own son about it while helping him with his tie.



In the meantime, he can practice being a good influence on his baby brother.