Monday Memories - Diapers-2 Calvin-0

This memory is coming out of the mothballs.

As you know, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has no paid clergy, so members of the congregation give the sermons. One winter day a good twenty seven years ago, Calvin was asked to speak in church. His week had been busy with winter-scout camp, teaching seminary, work, and calving heifers so he asked me at the last minute to bail him out and speak for him.

That Sunday morning I sat up in front of the congregation with the bishopric, other speakers, and chorister. Calvin sat on the back row of the chapel with Cali (3), Abe (1), and Ty (0). Soon after the meeting began, Calvin motioned for me to come down off the stand. He lifted Ty up and away from him and was giving a heavy nod to his diaper. I smiled back at him real big and shook my head, "No."  He motioned more desperately, gave me a stink-eye, and mouthed, “Blow-out.”

Up to that point, I remember Calvin changing one other diaper and that was when Cali was a baby. I’d come home from a Relief Society meeting and he told me how she’d cried and cried and cried because he’d poked her with the diaper pin.

Calvin had started to panic on the back row by now.  It’s not like a 3 year old and a 1 year old are much help in any crisis let alone a diaper crisis. But I was on base. I was safe. Calvin was going to have to take care of that cloth-diaper-change-in-the-days-before-diaper-wipes all on his own.  

And, he did . . . and that memory has been replayed a time or two. Of course when you’ve only changed two diapers in your life, it’s bound to be remembered.

But all this changed when Calvin became a grandpa. Why, he’s changed a dozen diapers in the last few years.

This morning I left to teach seminary at 6. Atlas and Levin have spent several days with us while Cali and Ray have been in San Diego. For several mornings the past week it was Calvin’s job to get Levin and Atlas up, changed, fed, dressed, and to the babysitter by 7:45.

It went off without a hitch.

Until today. 

 I got this text at 7:59 am.

 

Hahahahaha.  Once again, I was safe on the Lord's errand.  

And when I got home 30 minutes post-crisis, I found him like this:

(Yes you are correct, that would be a cloth diaper draped across his face.  I saved a box of the kids' old ones.  I always thought those diapers would make great bandages in a catastrophe, civil war, or earthquake. Finally, after moving that box three different times, I pulled the diapers out of mothballs last year and put them in the rag drawer.  Just in time for Calvin's emergency.)

When he pulled the rag off his face he said, "It was everywhere.  E.v.e.r.y.w.h.e.r.e.  I ran out of wipes. I just grabbed rags and used them.  Check the trash.  I threw them all away."  

Nope.  Not all of them.  There are still plenty of diapers in the drawer . . . and more grandkids.  I've got you covered Calvin.