Excavated Jealousies

Our church has a children's magazine, "The Friend".

As a child, I would immediately rush to read the "Friends in the News" section. This was a little spotlight section where they would include children's photographs and a brief biography. Tonight I found out that one of my sweetest friends, Krista, had her daughter, Katelyn, featured!

I quickly had a HORRIBLE flashback of my childhood.....frantically searching for MY picture....MY biography. As a child, I had no understanding of how these things worked. I assumed that the creator of the magazine knew all of us and loved all of us - just like God - and that my picture was destined to show up soon! My turn was coming!!! The middle child would FINALLY be in the spotlight.

Month after month all of the other children were featured. Not me. Forlorn, dejected, and REjected....I eventually gave up the dream. Shortly thereafter I found out that parents had to mail in the picture and bio. Thus the wound deepened - knowing I was unworthy of the effort and the 29 cent stamp. (take note that I filed a formal complaint with my mother tonight).

Let it be known that I am seriously sending a letter to The Friend....with MY picture and Karah's picture - and our bios.....and a little note about how I was ripped off as a child. I will wait faithfully for it to be printed. Until then, I will spotlight myself - and show my mom how it SHOULD have been done. Had she done this one simple thing.....she would have had a letter written to Regis and Kathy Lee about how she deserves to be mom of the year.

So.....mama, watch and learn......

Sarah, 6 lives in the Crystal Lake, Illinois 2nd ward. She is the middle child in the group of (eventually) 7 children. She is sweet and funny....in fact - she is sweeter and funnier than all of her other siblings. This makes her the favorite to her mommy and daddy - even though they make her promise not to tell the others. She has an adorable mole on her face that will migrate to her chin when she is an adult - and it will no longer be adorable. She will have her doctor remove it - but it will come back - even after paying a $30 co-pay and 10% of the surgical charges. She loves her brothers and sisters and enjoys giving long, drawn out lessons on family night. She has long, beautiful hair (even though her mother insists on butchering her bangs). The hair seen will soon not be around as she will catch head lice from the Laotian family that her parents adopt. Instead of patiently treating the lice and gently combing out the nits - her mom will just chop it all off and call it good....to the destruction of her self-esteem as people mistake her for a boy.

(This could have also been caused by Sarah's insistence on riding her bike without a shirt on.) She will live through these perilous years - and "blossom" (greasily) into her teenage years...and eventually womanhood. She will marry her best friend and have beautiful children. She will teach them - love them - AND make sure they are featured in "THE FRIENDS IN THE NEWS".