Clutch Shooter

Warning. Parental bragging ahead. Look away if this sort of thing turns your stomach.

Today, right before sacrament meeting started, Josh walked over to us with a white face.

"I forgot to write my talk," he said.

Randy jumped into action and the two of them rushed into the hall to see what they could put together. Fifteen minutes later, after passing the sacrament, Josh took the stand as the first youth speaker and delivered a three-minute talk about the importance of the scriptures, complete with a quote from For the Strength of Youth, a personal experience, and a scripture story. Bravo, kid.

Also. Randy coached Josh with one piece of advice that I LOVE and it's worth passing on: Don't start your talk with an apology. Don't tell a "funny" story about how the bishopric member asked you to give a talk, and don't tell us how or when you prepared it (or didn't, in this case). It's never funny. It's never original. It's a waste of time and it's boring. In Josh's case, today, because he didn't apologize nearly no one knew that he was unprepared. And why should they? He delivered a few valuable thoughts clearly and sat down. That's a useful contribution to a Sunday meeting.

I am most proud that Josh didn't start whining or crying, didn't try to excuse himself from his assignment, and didn't blame us (the worst parents ever) for not reminding him to write his talk and practice it. He just got to work. That's the kind of kid I want to keep around.