It's Monday

I just wanted to share some of the fun that I had on Mondays last month.From left to right, or should I say "weft to wight":Elder Ward, Elder Johnson?, Elder ?, and Elder Bird. This is part of District 43-C. Elder Atkinson and Elder Anderson had left for their mission that morning. These elders were a hoot to work with and they made it almost fun to clean the bathrooms at 6:30 in the morning. They even wrote me a song.
Here is a video of Elder Bird and Elder Ward doing a kick-flip, janitor style.



And yes, I did forget to turn off the camera when I was done.

So this morning I was a little sad because this was the first Monday that the "Bathroom Elders" wouldn't be there. I had finished cleaning in the lobby and was in the closet checking the list, finding out that they had only giving us 2 elders to replace the 8 that had left, when I heard a male voice yell "Gretchen!" I was confused. I didn't think that there were any elders left in the MTC who knew me. I walked out to see an elder that I had never seen before standing in the doorway. I asked what I could do for him. He said that he had seen pictures of me and wanted to meet me. I was very confused at this point, and even a little bit worried. He stuck out his hand and introduced himself as Elder Thomas or Thompson, I sadly can't remember his name, and told me that he was a friend of Elder Bird who had asked Elder T to find me before he left and say goodbye one more time for District C. I couldn't believe it.

Here is the song. It's very cheesy, but we do work with pretty strong chemicals.
To the tune of "Ye Elders of Israel"

1. Ye elders of District C, come join now with me!
In cleaning the bathrooms at the MTC!
We'll put on our goggles
And grab rubber gloves.
We'll snag all the sponges and
Scrub, scrub, scrub, scrub!

2. Oh Sister Young, oh Sister Young,
We bid thee farewell.
We're going on our missions
In God we will dwell!
We'll scrub so hard
'Til all look divine,
Then they will be ready
For all to refine.

3. Now verse 1 again!
4. Musical Interlude!
5. Verse 2 again!

I Need Your Help!

First of all, this picture has nothing to do with the post, but I think it's cute, and I know it is easier to read a post with a fun picture.
Second, Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad. I hope you have a good evening and enjoy dinner. What is is? 29 years? That's longer than I've been alive.
Third, the title says it all. But I guess I should tell you what I need your help doing. I am writing a personal narrative for my honors English class. I have had a few ideas, but the one that I like the best and that I think I can convey the learning and emotional growth from the best is about cleaning out Grandma's house. It will be done with a lot of flash backs and back story. What I need form you all is anything you remember from that day that triggered strong emotion or good memories. I have a lot already, but it would really help to hear your ideas also. I have until Tuesday to write a six to eight page draft, so the sooner the better. Thank you guys. Oh, and I'm writing this from the bathroom before I go an get something to eat. Ahhh, my life as a hermit college student.

The End of the Beginning. Or is it?

Yesterday was the last day of my first week of my first semester at college. I can't say that the first week went great and that I loved it, but I can say that now I think that I can do it. Everyone told me that it wouldn't be like high school, something that I was very excited about, and it's not. For one thing, there are less places to sit down. I walk all over campus trying to find a seat, but they are all taken. Not in the fact that every chair is occupied, but that there is at least one person on each bench or at every table. But I have found my four favorite places to sit when no one else is there. One is on the shadiest bench along the back of the JSB. The next is a covered bench, good when it rains, across from the front of the JSB next to the big rock. Third, a worn old chair behind a pillar in the sociology section of the bookstore. And last, the violently blue chair in the "lounge" in the women's restroom.

The last room is where I spent most of my time yesterday because I had an outlet to plug in my "new" laptop. It was very quiet until this girl came in one the phone with her mother telling her she wasn't feeling good. She hurriedly hung up just in time to lose the contents of her stomach in the sink. That was pretty gross. Then she left so I kept reading. Only a short time later she came back and laid on the floor. I kept reading, and took a short nap, because I didn't have time to look for a new place before my next class. Well, she threw up again. She kept apologizing, and everyone in the bathroom just kept saying it was fine and asking her if there was anything we could do. A custodian was called. I decided to stay with her until someone came. She just seemed so lonely, and she couldn't just go home to her mom. Soon the custodian came and I was kicked out of the bathroom. Oh well, it was almost time for my class any way.Now, let's play a game.

I spy an iPod, a pencil, two notebooks, a text on the bushmen, a license, a book on rocks and three on writing, two sets of keys, a map, a journal and two pen, a phone to call my mother, a book on the constitution, books for my "ology" classes, "A" gift, and a token to ride the bus.
I have a very heavy backpack. I take at least four heavy books each day, and now the computer.
I think that the most surprising thing is that I ride the city bus at least twice a day all alone. Yes, it's true. Mom went with me on the first day to teach me how and to calm me down, but since then I have been on my own. I'm getting pretty good at it if I do say so myself. And this is just the beginning of the cool college blogs I get to write.

When the First Baby Laughed for the First Time

I'm sitting here with my oldest brother Jeremy, my youngest sister Olivia, and my niece Lily. They are playing with one of those baby dolls that make "realistic" baby sounds and opens and closes her eyes. Jeremy puts the baby to sleep and Lily watches as he wakes her up so that she'll cry. Then Lily giggles like crazy. I love the sound of children laughing. There is something so pure and uninhibited about it. In one of my favorite movies, the Mary Martin Peter Pan, Peter tells Wendy that when the first baby laughed for the first time it broke into a thousand pieces and they all when skipping about. And that's where Tink came from. I think it's fitting, though, that a baby's laugh skips. I can picture it skipping from ear to ear. So back to Lily and Jeremy. Lily came running in and told Doctor Jeremy that her gorilla was hurt. Jeremy checked for the usual problems, like blood clots and cancer, then Lily calmly told him that the gorilla was climbing on the sky and fell on the stairs and broke his arm. Jeremy was suddenly very concerned and "called" child services and had a social worker come visit. After Lily was satisfied with her gorilla's health and ran into the next room, Jeremy asked me if he was playing with Lily or if he was playing for himself. Since Lily had no idea what was going on and doesn't know what a social worker is I told him that he was definitely playing for himself. But don't we all.