A Good Olsen

We all have our favorite stories to tell.
By we, I mean parents. I find that I enjoy sharing one or two stories that show just how good I was at parenting. And, by I, I mean we, Lori and I.
One of those stories is about my son Bret, and how I couldn’t wait to hear his answer in a Sunday School class setting.
I was serving in my church as a Sunday School teacher for kids 16 -- 19 years old. This was a fairly large class, as it covered just about all the kids in high school in our ward. On average we had 15 -- 20 kids in attendance. It was a lot of fun.
What made the class even more fun, was my son, Bret, was in the class. And, although he was a pretty good kid, he liked to debate and ask questions as “one of the gang.”
On one Sunday, our discussion was about keeping the Sabbath Day holy and attending church. Many of the kids complained about their parents demands, antics and pressure to get up in the morning after a late Saturday night to attend church. Why should they be forced to come to church?
Out of the blue, one of Bret’s friends looked at him point blank and said “You can’t tell me your dad never forced you out of bed to go to church!” I looked at my son, wondering what his reaction was going to be. After all, these were his peers. What was he going to say.
Bret’s face turned a little red, having been put on the spot. He paused and gathered his thoughts for a moment and looked at his friend, ready to give his answer. I was waiting to hear it as well.
“I can honestly say that my dad has never forced me to attend church,” he said to unbelievers. “I was raised that Olsen’s went to church on Sunday. I wanted to be a good Olsen, so I have never questioned what I was going to be doing on Sunday morning” he concluded.
As the contestants in the Family Feud game show would cheer, “ Good Answer, Good Answer.”
I love sharing this story. I can honestly say Lori and I never had an argument with our kids about going to church. We might have rushed them through the get-ready-to-go process a time or two, but we never had to force them into the car for the short trip to the chapel.
I share this story today as I enjoyed attending the Primary Sunday program with my grandson as the star. Because of other commitments this day, I shared the bench with my two sons, their wives, three grandchildren, my daughter and Lori. I look forward to the day when the grandchildren are 16 years old and they summon their thoughts together and declare, “I wanted to be a good Olsen!”