Mommy Plays The Organ

Every new year brings a change to our church schedule.  This year we attend church from 1:00 to 4:00 in the afternoon.  In addition, I have a new calling - ward organist!  If I can survive Sacrament meeting this year, it will be a miracle!  3 kids and an organ - crazy!

As can be expected, my first day was not without some trauma.  Unbeknownst to me, I somehow managed to adjust the volume of the organ.  Ordinarily, this wouldn't have been a problem if my brain had been functioning properly, but all of the excitement and nerves caused a bit of confusion and I completely forgot that the volume of this massive instrument is controlled by one single (albeit big) pedal located near my feet.  Duh.

I know what you're thinking... the organ was too loud.  Nope, I had the opposite problem.  The organ was so soft, I could barely hear it over the congregational singing.  This created multiple problems:

• I can't hear it, so it's hard to tell if I am really following the chorister or not.
• The chorister can't hear it, so he's not really sure what I'm doing.
• The congregation can't hear it and rarely seem to follow the chorister anyway, so they are just singing.

Um, yeah.  If you missed church this week, count your blessings.

On the bright side, my children were very well-behaved.  Maybe I can do this after all...

My not-so-talented feet that have to learn to play the organ. 

Why oh why are there so many pedals?  Can't we just pretend they don't exist?

CLARIFICATION: Our ward chorister seems to be very talented, so I would just like to say that he is not to blame for this fiasco.  This week's entertainment was provided for you by yours truly.  :)