Survival Instincts

I had an incident this week that I am not proud of. In #GeneralConference we have been encouraged to listen to the Holy Ghost. I thought I was doing that but apparently not well.

I had made dinner for a neighbor who just had a baby. I also was trying to prepare our portion of it while I took the meal to the neighbor. In a pot on my stove I had some water and a double-boiler steaming pan on top. I had placed my broccoli in it and checked the water level just before walking out the door.
The Holy Ghost said, "The water level is not high enough. You need more water."
I said, "Hmmm... but I'll only be gone for a minute. I'm sure it will be okay."
I'm certain the Holy Ghost looked at me with disappointment on His face as I confidently walked out the door with a divine meal in my hands.

My husband and I went to my neighbor's house, held her baby, told her what church we went to (using the full name); we talked about children and how we can know what to do for them through the power of the Holy Ghost, and headed back home.

I hadn't even gotten to my front door before I knew that I had sinned. The smell... oh my goodness, the smell. I sprinted inside - I think I had pot holders in my hands, I don't know where they went - and went directly to where I knew the source of my transgression was - the stove.

My pan is charred. My broccoli is black. And we were likely minutes away from a fire. My house smells like a chain-smoker lives here and I know that I only have myself to blame.

Meanwhile, my children, who have been home the entire time this was happening, are still sitting on the couch glued to their tablets. I imagine that their conversation went something like this:
"C, do you smell that?"
"Yes, K. I wonder what mom is making for dinner."
"Whatever that is, I don't want it."
"Well, I have 5 more minutes of watching someone else play Minecraft on YouTube, K. Besides, it's your turn."

And of course, they could have died!!! Where are their survival instincts? Why isn't there something internally that says, "Danger! Danger! Something must be wrong. I'll check it out."

So I called them to the kitchen. "Guys, didn't you notice anything? I could have been dead in here!"
K, the preteen with an attitude: "How could you just be dead in here? You can't die from a bad smell."
Me: "Actually, you can; but mom's sometimes die for no reason. You really should be more aware of what is going on here!"

Since they have not been born with survival instincts, we are all taking the prophet's challenge and fasting from technology for 10 days, and they have lost the privilege of being home alone. "Guys, I have a female doctor appointment, I hope you enjoy the waiting room." and "Guys, get in the car, we have a presidency meeting." "Kids, we are going to wander around Walmart and look for Tesla owners." You're welcome. K was recently complaining that I never spend time with her  -as if I hadn't given up my life and hobbies to spend all-day every-day staying here to homeschool her. Now she and I can be buddies -wherever I go, she goes! In my mind, this feels like revenge so I like it, but really I'm just suffocating myself by spending all of my time with 2 preteens.

Homeschool just got real here. Survival skills are next on the agenda.