Clogged Ears

A few Sundays ago Perry met me in the hall after church. He had escaped from Sunday School right at the end. I think he figures that when some other parent comes to get his or her kid, Sunday School is over and he's free to wonder the halls looking for me. He just gets excited and forgets he's supposed to stay put until I get there to claim him.

"Mom, look! I made a sifter for cakes!" Then he handed me a black cylindrical piece of construction paper with stickers all over it.

"Oh, great Perry!" I said, a little puzzled.

I stood there a little while longer waiting for David to gather up Daisy, Calvin, and all the worldly possessions we, for some reason, feel we have to haul to church every Sunday.

"Oh, great, you've got him," I hear and turn around to see Perry's Sunday School teacher looking relieved.

We exchanged greetings and then she mentioned that they'd been studying the book of Ester.

"Oh," I said, "Then this is probably not a sifter for cakes, then."

"No," she replied, laughing. "It's a scepter. The Scepter of Mercy."

Perry looked up at me. "The Scepter of Nursing?"