Kids Will Be Kids

Kostin interviewing Br. Joshua Seidl, Vocations Director for the
Society of St. Paul

Recently we went to the Catholic Marketing Network Conference (CMN).  The Children's Rosary had a booth.  It is always such a blessing to meet so many different people and see the work they are doing for Our Lord.  My children always help at the booth during the week.  Although sometimes it looks like I am alone, but then there is a rustle and you realize there is one child under the table and another behind the back curtain amassing his loot from the different booths.  In many ways a Conference such as the CMN is like a place of wonderful opportunity.  Many booths have free candy or small trinkets.  Over the course of the week little things are gathered much like a mouse would gather his store of food for the winter.  The "treasures" are brought to the "nest".  In the case of our children this nest was behind the back curtain that hung in front of the outer wall of the convention hall.  This 1 foot wide space is just big enough for a child to sit and arrange his goodies.  When needed he can travel along this space almost like a tunnel undetected.  

Brother Donald from Mary Town Ilinois said the first question he was asked
was why he wanted to become a Brother.  The last was
what was his favorite candy.

Another highlight for our middle son is on the last day of the conference.  For the past two years EWTN Bookmark had wrapped up shooting by the last day.  Their booth for interviewing is thus left empty. Kostin our middle son has seen this as a wonderful opportunity to set up an interview booth which he calls the Kostin Show.  He flips over the sign reading EWTN Bookmark replacing it with the title KOSTIN SHOW.  His logo is a tie.  This is because he always dresses in a suit for the Conference and loves dressing up. 

Irish singer, Dana, began and ended the interview
with a short prayer

Beginning Friday he would take to the aisles inviting guests.  No one was excluded from an invitation.  Priest, Brothers, singers, conference attendees,  everyone was invited for a turn.  His precious store of candy he had gathered all week was set out on a table for each guest to peruse and then take their favorite piece.  Often I heard his closing question to an interview would be what is your favorite candy.  Sitting across from Kostin's booth there seemed to be serious questions being asked but also times of laughter.  This was serious business to Kostin but being a child things often get a bit silly too.

I marveled to see how open everyone was to his invitation.  As the conference was wrapping up I was surprised how many people took the time to make him feel special and talk to him for 5 or 10 minutes.  It meant a great deal to him.  For Kostin from his earliest days growing up in an orphanage in Kazakhstan he has wanted very much to be special.  To see so many people taking the time to talk with him was so very kind.

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A New Way To Look at our Brokenness
How to Start a Children's Rosary