Earth-Quake Suckers...Shhh!

I'm not sure exactly what to be when I grow up. Well for sure I want to be a mom the most...but then I might be a growing person too. I like to grow things...because at Family Home Evening we finished planting all kinds of seeds in their little planters in the house. They are all on the kitchen counter now where the sun comes in the window.

I got to plant the rest of the peas by myself. Plus, Oh My!...I can't even hardly believe that those teensy bitty slivers of seeds that aren't even the least bit orange, will turn into carrots...but they will! Then we planted flowers and corn. The corn seeds really look like corn. Next week, we will shovel and rake and get our garden ground all ready to go, dad said. The peas are ready to plant outside. They kinda like cold okay cuz' they are all cozy in their pod which looks like a tiny boat.

I like that our family grows stuff. It's fun to watch. First just the green plants come up and every morning they grow taller and then one day we will plant them outside and then one day they will get some blossoms and then one day that is what turns into real food. It is the funnest thing to see...but it takes l-o-t-s of time. LOTS! Just give them some time. I can't wait to see the pea pods because when I open them, tiny little green balls are inside! They taste so good right out of their boat-pod!

Momma said that Prophets have told us to store some food for when we need it...and so that's why we are growers. Right now we can go to the store and get our food whenever we want. But if the stores were all closed for 94 and 1/2 days or (maybe more or maybe less), then we would just go downstairs and get our food from our own storage...which, when I think about it, is sorta like our own little store. It all works out good.

And there is something else in our storage room...but it it TOP SECRET. I can write it down here because no one is allowed to read my journal...but I won't say the secret out loud to ANYBODY. Except mom said I could tell grandma everything and it could still be a secret and so I did. Oh, and Luci gets to know, but that's ALL. (For sure, I will never ever tell Jayden!) Well, once we talked about reasons we might use our storage and what if an earthquake comes sometime and we couldn't go to a store? Because what if the ground just had a giant crack in it after everything shakes around for a while? Jayden said,"You CAN NOT drive right over a giant crack" and he said: "Sometimes all the stores will fall down and sometimes even houses fall down!" Anyway, that made me way scared about earthquakes. Because things fall out of your cupboards and some of your best stuff gets lost in the big crack when the earth quakes. And you have to clean up a big fat mess...and sometimes things fall on you and so I got real worried. My dad said that if the earth quakes then the first thing to do is to get under our big table or to get in the doorway or hall closet and we'd be fine. But sometimes I worried anyway, and a few times after that. Well, lots of times I worried...A-L-O-T!
Mom said that I shouldn't ever worry because Heavenly Father hears our prayers...and then two days later, after I had asked lots more questions about how big the crack could be, and after I sorta didn't want to get in the car just in case that crack came, mom got a great idea. "Hadley K," she said, "I don't know how deep it would be or if it would go across the street by Luci's house or not. I just don't know...and maybe we won't even have an earthquake!" I could tell that she was ready to move on to something else to talk about. The very next day, mom told me to follow her (and that's when I saw her idea)! She took me to our storage room and showed me a surprise!

"Hadley K, if we EVER, but probably NEVER have an earthquake...then I have an important job for you to do." I already knew to put my shoes right where I know where they are and stuff. At school they told us to keep our shoes right by our closet door so we could find them quick if we have an emergency. Ms. Clay said that if things sway and sway around and fall down and break, or if there is a fire, or gas leak, or hundreds of emergency things, then you should first get your shoes on to protect your feet. So I know all about that. But my mom looked right at me. "Honey, this is a secret surprise just for you to know about. Can you keep a top secret?"

Mom pulled out a bucket of wheat and behind it was a sorta brown and sorta reddish box. Well, probably more rust colored with designs I think. She opened the lid and pulled out a giant sack of suckers and then some coloring books and crayons! "Hadley, if we EVER do, (but probably won't have) an earthquake...you will be just fine...because you are big. But some of the little kids next door might be afraid...because they are little. So, listen carefully to what you will need to do. FIRST: You will stay in the hall closet or under our big table, but after things are safe and still again, then SECOND:I want you to come get some of these surprizes and take them to our little friends next door." I counted the coloring books and there was enough for me to have one too! I would choose the one with the butterflies on the cover I think...or maybe the one with the Zoo animals because I love animals. Well, I have to think about which one on Saturday because I needed to pay attention right then. Mom let me look at the books for a minute and then we put the suckers and crayons and coloring books back in the box. Momma put the wheat bucket in front of the secret box and then she held my hands and looked at me very serious.

"Honey, this is a very important job and I know that you can do it. You can help little children to be calm when there is any kind of emergency. Will you do it?" "YES! I will do it!" I was glad to be in charge of the secret box.

"Only in case of EMERGENCY she warned me...(maybe she saw how excited I was to open that box again)? After that, I was never afraid of earthquakes any more. I knew exactly what to do.

So that's why we grow things and stuff. We get all ready and then we don't get all scared about if the stores close or if there is a fire or a quake or if dad doesn't get his job anymore or if whatever happens or something else. So when Jayden threw the ball too far and it crashed right through our window, I got so excited and I told my mom that I would run down and get the surprises to calm us all down! But, she just shook her head and sighed a little mad sigh: "No, this is not an emergency...this is a teaching moment." I kinda knew (by the sound of her voice) to escape the area right then. There goes the rest of my brother's life...but it did not need to include mine!

I sat on my bed and I thought about how many chores Jayden would have to do to get enough money for a new window. Maybe someday he will grow up! Hey... wait...just think about that. Yeah... He is growing up! Just give him some time. Like the seeds grow green, then get the blossoms, then they get food. I get it! My mom is a mom, PLUS she is a grower! She has to wait and wait for Jayden to grow up just like she has to wait and wait for those peas and corn and flowers and carrots and stuff. Our family is a garden! That's funny. But it's sorta also true.

Pulling weeds is not the fun part. I don't like weeds at all. I just pretend that they are the bad guys (because they are and they take all the food from the dirt and will not share with the good plants at all)...anyway, I just get my garden gloves on and pull them all out. I pretend that I am a super-hero and I save the day. Then it's not so boring. Plus, when I get through with my part...then I get to ride my bike. So it all works.

Luci doesn't like bees...but I do! I like them alot because they make our plants happy. My plants love bees and I think they grow just to show off for them. I don't know why Luci is so scared of tiny bees. She should be afraid of the weeds...they are the things that ruin everything. Bee stings only hurt for a second until I put some mud on it. Its kinda important to think about what really hurts and what really helps. I used to think work hurt me because: "I don't want to weed EVER again, it isn't any fun." That's when dad said: "Work doesn't have to be fun in order to work!" And that's when I started to pretend I'm a super-hero and yank those weeds out by their very roots! The weeds will always keep coming and I will always keep yanking. That's how everything grows up. I think when Luci tastes my very own peas, she will like bees...and when she has their honey on my mom's warm bread....mmmmmm! She will love those bees! Just give her some time.