A Little Empathy, Please . . .

I had a brilliant idea.

Last night for Family Home Evening, I decided we should learn about compassion and understanding. Number one on my agenda was allowing the children to experience how mommy feels being pregnant -- so they could understand why I lay on the couch so much, and why I am not as "peppy" as I normally am.

I loaded a backpack full of rice (12 pounds for William and 24 pounds for the bigger kids), and I strapped it onto their fronts. Looking back now, I really should have added a couple of rice bags on their chests, and a few more on their backsides. :-) I just wanted them to feel the "weight" that I carry so that they could appreciate me a little more, and also be a little happier about helping me when I need it.

After loading them down with weight, we had them do some simple tasks . . .

William is bending-over to clean-up items off of the floor. He grunted, and chuckled, and struggled. It was pretty darn cute, and accurate! He was super funny to watch . . . he spends the most time with me, so he seemed to copy my behavior the best -- waddling and everything. :-)

I should have taken video!

I had them lay down, so they could experience what it is like for me to try and sleep, or rest . . .

This is Sammi saying, "Ugh!"

Sammi was supposed to just find my shoes and put them on . . . it took awhile.

Sammi doing some light cleaning . . . and cracking knees.

(You'll notice Daddy was enjoying this, too. He said he did not need to strap on the weight for empathy -- he gained 20 pounds drinking hot-chocolate every night, during undergrad school.) :-) He, he.

Daniel experiencing lying down with the fantastic crushing-sensation. "Ugh!" he groaned.

Even sitting was uncomfortable . . . he is smiling because it was his last task before he could take it off.

They lasted 5 minutes . . . how about 9 months!

We had a good talk about how everyone can help mommy better -- now that they understand I am not just a wimp and I really struggle. Let's hope it worked!

We also wanted to go beyond having pregnancy-empathy, so we added a few more tasks and challenges.

We tied blindfolds over their eyes and had them experiment with some easy tasks in the darkness.

Writing . . .

Walking around . . . looking for particular items in the house. Lots of things were knocked over.

Finding his way to the bathroom . . . it was hard!

We also had them tie their good hand behind their backs, and try and do normal things . . .

Brushing teeth . . . tricky.

Getting a drink of water . . .

Putting on shoes . . .

Not easy!

Tying shoes . . .

It was rough!

It was a fantastic Family Home Evening. We also sang the primary song, "If you don't walk like most people do". We discussed how some people have special challenges that they have to learn to deal with and overcome . . . but also emphasized that nothing is impossible. We had them listen to Beethoven who composed music while deaf, they watched Ray Charles play the piano without being able to see, we discussed the girl from the Soul Surfer movie, and we watched Kyle Mynard climbing a mountain without arms or legs -- amazing!

Empathy for others is an important quality to learn, especially when children are young. I also wanted them to see and understand that people are not defined by their abilities or disabilities --- but by the strength of their heart. It was a really special night. I highly recommend it for a family activity!