Thursday, August 23, 2007

Be nice to strangers...

...they might be the one's cleaning, cooking, and singing at your funeral.
I accepted the assignment to clean the church building and sing for a funeral today. At first I thought, "Why me? I don't know these people." Then I realized that, of course, it has to be people who aren't involved with the grieving family. I know that the morning of my grandma's funeral I would not have wanted to be down at the church cleaning toilets.
Speaking of cleaning toilets, I learned something about the male species that I thought was just particular to my own home, but now I know it's true across the board. Males don't flush toilets or wash their hands! I cleaned 3 mens bathrooms today. After entering one bathroom I was bowled over by the smell of old urine. You know the smell. I covered my nose with my t-shirt and went in for the flush. I propped the bathroom door open to let it air out for a few minutes before I commenced cleaning. I don't know why I was surprised to see that the sink and faucet were completely dry and shiney as if they have never been touched. My OCD has taken a few dramatic leaps forward. I never want to shake hands at church again!
Speaking of OCD, now that I am home I am going to scrub myself with ammonia and SOS pads. I can tolerate my own families cooties, but not other peoples....no way.
Speaking of my own family, I welcome the opportunity to sing at a strangers funeral. (Carrot is rolling her eyes, probably thinking my voice can wake the dead. She heard me sing in the car this past weekend. Trust me, Carrot, I do much better with a piano.) I hope that some kind stranger will return the favor someday. As much as I love my family, I don't think I could compose myself long enough to sing at their funeral.
Speaking of singing, I bet you are wondering what song I will be performing. I am singing a duet with another lady. She is an alto and I am a soprano. We are singing, "'I Need Thee Hour."
Speaking of the hour, I gotta hop in the tub before I am late.

25 comments:

  1. i love this "speaking of" post. i'm sure you have a lovely singing voice. and you mentioning the smell of old urine brought it clearly to my mind. or my nose. blech. odd that you were asked to clean toilets. you're a nice, nice woman.

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  2. I'm an alto who loves to sing! Wish I could join you...just maybe not in the men's nasty bathrooms! (Ewww...I'll never leave for church again without my trusty purse-size Purell hand sanitizer!)

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  3. I heard you in Annie Get Your Gun. I knew you could sing!

    When its our turn alphabetically to clean the chapel I make dang sure we get there early to avoid the dreaded bathroom assignments.

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  4. Somewhere you amassed major heavenly service points with that bathroom and you never know when those will come in handy.

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  5. You are extra good to do all that service!

    I know how it is cleaning men's bathrooms! For a semester at BYU, my roommate were janitors at 4:30 every morning (eeeeek) in the Tanner building (which is where the business school is). Even on the top floor where the bathrooms are probably only used by the most educated and smarty pants professors, the men's toilets and urinals were NEVER flushed. This was a good education on men for me since I have no brothers and wasn't married. And speaking of singing, my roommate and I had to sing while cleaning said nastiness, and we often chose to do so in Spanish, just for fun. It made the time go faster.

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  6. You are very brave to venture into the men's room!

    I don't think I would be able to sing at even a stranger's funeral--sympathetic crier, sigh. Good Luck!

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  7. You mean you aren't singing a diddy from "Saturdays Warriors"? You and Carronin sang it so beautifully!!
    Guys are gross.
    You will do great and that family will appreciate it.

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  8. When it's our turn to clean the Church, I make sure my husband and son clean the men's bathroom. (We have a small building, thank goodness!!! I'm more than happy to do the woman's.

    I think I was in the wrong line when they handed out the singing talent--I admire people who have been given that gift. And especially those that are willing to share it for the benefit of others.

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  9. good advice...and way to be....cleaning, and singing!

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  10. I am OCDing right there w/ you Thanks for singing that is always a great service

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  11. I wish I could sing. I have to lip synch even when I'm alone cuz even I don't want to hear it!

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  12. You are so brave! I am proud of you! let us know how it goes!

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  13. Ewwwwwww! Guys can be really gross sometimes!

    How sweet of you to sing at someone's funeral. I had to play my flute at my grandma's funeral when I was 14. I was supposed to play I am a Child of God, but I couldn't make it through.

    I Need Thee Every Hour?, couldn't they have you sing something a little more uplifting, like There is Sunshine in my Soul Today. Kidding....Okay, bad joke.

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  14. Oh guys are so gross! I taught my boys to clean the bathroom at age 7; 'cause I wasn't the one peeing all over the place.

    My aunt had me lead the music at my uncle's funeral, I cried through the entire thing and couldn't sing. I am not sure I could get through the song if asked to sing.

    I had Tori's man play the piano at my dad's funeral. Nothing better.

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  15. Cuando damos ayuda que contento nos da; y por esto nos gusta ayudar a mama!
    You can sing that while you scrub :)

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  16. I have passed along my OCD about the bathroom to my kids. One takes it a little too far and if the toilet hasn't been flushed, she ain't goin' in. And when kids are over, it drives me crazy when the toilet flushes and they walk out before it has completely gone down. No hand washin' was going on there. Why oh why???

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  17. Last time we cleaned the church I got to clean the windows... so much easier than bathrooms... :S
    Good luck with your singing

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  18. You can sing too?!?!
    I have never sung at a funeral, only baptisms and a wedding once. It was SCARY.
    I guess with a funeral if they cried harder when I sang I could be comforted that they were just sad and maybe it wasn't my singing voice making them weep.

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  19. Speaking of awesome blogs...yours is amazing! I loved this one.

    I think my little brother has OCD...its silly really.

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  20. I've heard you sing so I know you're awesome at it, but scrubbing toilets? You are the ultimate Mo Girl package!!! Now how are your Jello making skills?

    I miss you :)

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  21. Remember my simple friend? She sang Put You Shoulder to the Wheel whilst cleaning the toilet. It's inspiring.

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  22. You have an awesome voice. I wish I could have heard you sing that song.

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  23. My brother sang Danny Boy acapella at my step dad's funeral....on my gosh....we were all sobbing by the end.

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  24. You are so modest, you have the voice of an Annie angel.
    I have seen people leave the restroom without washing their hands. Gross.
    You are a good woman cleaning the men's restroom. I'd have fainted (outside of course).

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  25. Seriously, I always freak out about shaking a guys hand. I know they don't wash and it is disgusting because they touch their "goods" everytime they go to the bathroom! GROSS.

    I am glad though that my little guy (he's 5) is OCD in that he normally is standing at the door listening to see if people wash their hands. The kid gets grossed out easily. He is known to sing happy birthday twice while washing his hands to make sure they are super clean.

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