Brain Food
June 20th, 2007 by FiddledeedeeWhen my kids arrived home from an action packed day of scripture learning and praise song singing at Vacation Bible School, I asked them how their day went. “We ate Brownies Mom! With chocolate chips. And cookies.” Everyone knows that VBS really stands for Very Bad Snacks.
“Um, okay. But what did you learn about the Bible?”
Silence. Thinking. Thinking.
Finally, Emme spoke up. “We learned about Esther.” Thank goodness. She’s retained some modicum of Biblical knowledge. Alleluia. I begin to envision my children involved in ministry, spreading the word of God to all they meet. Winning souls to Christ. I continue to prod for more information. “What did you learn about Esther?” “She died,” she states with no visible emotion.
I turn to the younger sister. “Cailey, what did you learn about today?” Brightly she said, “I learned about Esther, too.” “What did you learn about Esther?” “She was queened.” Cailey is an avid checker player. This was a Biblical concept that she could grasp. Hopeful, I ask, “And then what happened?” She sighed, “Same thing that Emme said.”
Since we read the Bible to them most every day, and they’ve watched “Esther” as presented by the Veggie Tales, ad nauseum, I can only conclude that it’s the brain dissolving properties of all the Ho Hos and Little Debbies served during snack time that caused this Biblical memory loss. The same loss that plagued me during my 5 years of college. While existing primarily on Hostess Cupcakes, Cherry Filled Pies, fried chicken, and coffee. And I wonder why my metabolism deserted me.
This is my feeble explanation for why I walk in circles around my house forgetting why I entered a room in the first place. Why I set the kitchen timer and then when it dings I’m always startled. For I have no clue why I set it in the first place. Why I cannot remember what I consumed for breakfast this morning, yet can recall the words to the theme song to nearly every television show from that ran from 1966 to 1974.
Odd.
Fortunately VBS only comes around once a year. And during that week, I just double up on their multivitamins and hope for the best. As for me, the damage is already done.
If I dig back in the bowels of the pantry I could stumble upon a Twinkie leftover from my first pregnancy. And I bet I’d still be good. A Twinkie has a shelf life of about 20 years you know.
Now, why did I go to the pantry?
Posted in My Life as I See It | 27 Comments »
June 20th, 2007 at 5:23 am
Yay! I just LOVE choc chip cookies Vacation Bible School! Especially the pre-made tea with LOADS of milk AND sugar too. It’s really why Vacation Bible School is my favourite time of year. Seriously.
June 20th, 2007 at 5:47 am
The VBS at our church has moved over into insane. If its anything like the past couple years, we’ll have 1000-1100 kids.
I’m doing behind the scenes work in the registration department where its safe. I’m not stepping foot anywhere near the church on VBS week.
June 20th, 2007 at 6:35 am
I didn’t realize VBS specialized in the junk food. We are so signing up next year.
June 20th, 2007 at 6:38 am
Hee Hee, That is so true. The memory part I mean. My favorite VBS story is my own forgetfulness. I was in charge of VBS, with 3 small children under foot and all that entailed. I was IN CHARGE. You literally eat, breathe, and sleep VBS for a weel when that happens.
And so there was the night in the middle of VBS week when I served tuna casserole and my husband pointed out the fact that I had forgotten the tuna.
June 20th, 2007 at 7:03 am
This year a huge tragedy occurred at our VBS… they had 100 more kids than anticipated the first day and ran out of M&M cookies. So two of my girls got those and two got PRETZELS. The horror.
We always get comments back on evaluations about having healthier snacks like cut up carrot sticks. Perfect… we’ll spend five times as much money on snacks and have 85% of those cut up carrot sticks thrown away and then comments on evaluations saying kids are too hungry during VBS to concentrate! So I say bring on the Ding Dongs!
June 20th, 2007 at 7:10 am
http://www.twinkiesproject.com I know I always have to add my two cents worth, but when you mentioned Twinkies I thought of this site. My husband teaches the 3rd and 4th grade boys on Wednesday night and they do all these experiments with Twinkies. It’s really gross when they blend up the tasty treat with water. All the boys want to drink the concoction. Hey, maybe the could serve that at VBS.
I laughed so hard when you said that the timer you set startled you! My mom does the same thing. I’m sure I would too…if I owned a timer. Maybe we should have a tiny notebook and pen attached to a necklace that we wear all day long. When we realize we have to go to the bathroom we write it down right then so when we are halfway down the hallway we don’t forget where we were going!! But then again we might catch a glimpse of ourselves in the mirror and ask why we are wearing a notebook necklace.
June 20th, 2007 at 7:52 am
brownies??? chocolate chip cookies??? I was robbed. When I would go to VBS, our standard fare consisted of grape Kool-Aid and those scalloped-shaped butter cookies we’d wear on our fingers like rings and eat them off.
Kids these days have no clue.
Brownies. Hmmmph.
June 20th, 2007 at 8:42 am
The smell of cherry koolaide always takes me back to sweating to death in VBS in our un-air conditioned church. And those nasty cheap sandwich cookies. Eeww. I really didn’t enjoy VBS much. Last summer my oldest went to three different VBS programs. He had a ball and is asking to go back!
As for the timer, I try to place it near the thing I’m timing. That way when it goes off I go to the thing being timed to turn off the timer! Works for me.
June 20th, 2007 at 8:46 am
Only once has my five-year-old daughter left Sunday school and remembered what was taught. (And that was when we were visited John Piper’s church.) Even then, it went along the lines of, “And then the people said, ‘Barabus! Barabus! Give us Barabas!’ And then they took Jesus and put pants on him and hurt him really good. And he bleeded.”
But the heart of the story is there, right?!?
June 20th, 2007 at 8:47 am
Dee Dee,
You are a fresh spot of joy in my daily blog reading.
Blessings…
June 20th, 2007 at 8:48 am
Ohhh can I relate!! My girlies “learned about Moses. He was a baby, and then he died.” Nice synopsis. However they can tell you what everyone made and said in craft time, everyone’s name and who got to draw from the prize box.
Oh yeah, our priorities are in order, uh huh!
June 20th, 2007 at 8:51 am
Know what I love best about VBS? Children free mornings…three hours at least of no children. I’m thinking I’ll start sending the girlies to all VBS’s in town. Universal church? Ahh who cares. LDS? Best learn the truth about them now, it’ll be easier to beat the missionaries at their own game when they come calling.
LOL
June 20th, 2007 at 9:37 am
LOL! We are doing VBS this week and I’m with ya on the snacks. Nothing like giving a bunch of 4 year olds M&Ms and Corn Pops at 8:45pm and then sending them home…
I’m one of the volunteers so I’m there every night and know what he’s learning, heck I’m the one teaching him, but all he can say is “I like the dancing”.
Awesome.
June 20th, 2007 at 10:02 am
June 20th, 2007 at 10:53 am
Hey, count your blessings that they will TELL you what they remember…when I ask my teenage boy what they talk about at their high school church discussion group, this is the answer I get…
“Stuff”.
Okey-dokey. At least he chooses to go to church, I don’t have to make him.
June 20th, 2007 at 12:06 pm
Maybe that’s what’s wrong with me – not VBS, as I never went (as a child), but maybe all those HoHo’s in the school formerly known as junior high did me in. Maybe that’s why I can’t focus (see http://bunny-trails.blogspot.com/2007/06/focus-what-is-that.html). Thank you SO much for diagnosing my insanity! I’ll be checking your posts for a cure. LOL!!
p.s. – I, too, can remember words to songs from eons ago, taking up potentially valuable space in this scrambled brain of mine. sigh.
June 20th, 2007 at 12:09 pm
So you’re saying it’s the processed cake-like treats that have affected my memory? Because while I can remember the name of my 7th grade friend’s boyfriend, I can not remember who I grounded and for what, or why I took away the Polly Pockets.
The scary part? My kids are onto me, and I’m certain they’re now taking advantage of my mental impairment.
June 20th, 2007 at 2:45 pm
I’ll raise your kids’ “dead queened esther” lesson with my son’s lesson on “the last buffet.”
June 20th, 2007 at 2:46 pm
and here i have been blaming the children for the brain depletion…i swear it got sucked out in the umbilical cord during pregnancy….
those tv show themes are hard to get rid of…but i have to say its the 80s power ballad songs that run thru my head at odd times
ask my boys about church and T will tell you he likes to go sing his “:LA LAs” and K prefers the 4 song….some of you might know it….actual chorus is Yes Lord Yes Lord….he hears yes 4 yes 4 yes im 4
thanks for another great post
June 20th, 2007 at 3:56 pm
Hey! I’d have gone to VBS too if I’d have known the snacks would be so good!
June 20th, 2007 at 6:11 pm
It’s not just VBS. I ask my kids on Sunday mornings…whaddja learn about??
Jesus.
EVERY TIME.
June 20th, 2007 at 8:24 pm
oh joy; our VBS starts next week. I’ve been “threatening” to play the cd in the car when they argue with each other. (they sent it home for them to learn the songs)
June 20th, 2007 at 8:28 pm
My mom used to read us Bible stories from this book she had and then have us dictate the story back, with her writing our versions down. We reread them as adults and were astounded at how we had twisted the stories, and this was just after hearing them!
I think kids focus on things far differently that we do!
BTW, I love your blog. I´ve been reading through it and it looks like I´ll have to pick up your RSS!
June 20th, 2007 at 8:36 pm
So far the snax from my guy’s VBS have included s’mores, and pepperoni and cheese cracker stackers, and one “uhhh, I don’t remember. I know I drank lemonade.” Ugh. Very Bad Snacks indeed.
June 20th, 2007 at 8:55 pm
Oh, VBS. What blissful, vague memories. Crafts. Skits. Prizes for memorizing verses that are now, woefully, gone. Lining up to go to the next activity. Lining up to go back.
The snacks – I can’t even remember them…
… they were that good!
As always, please, please, please keep writing.
June 21st, 2007 at 6:41 am
LOL. We just finished Vacation Bible School last week, and my kids retained nothing also. The only information shared with me was what they had for snack and what they did during game time. Even my fifteen-year-old, who helped out with the second graders, only had a vague idea of the scriptural principles that were shared (in her defence, she spent most of the time trying to keep them from eating their name tags. Apparently, this was a hungry bunch.)
June 26th, 2007 at 8:13 pm
Love it–as a lifelong VBSer from toddlerhood on, I can testify to Very Bad Snacks.