Thank you Helen & Don!!
Now, this is a blast to the past -- in fact, way back to the summer of 1978. I worked for Casper College's maintenance department that summer. Most of the summer, I helped prepare McIntire Hall for the new school year. There were some summer students who stayed in the hall for a few weeks, but the dorm was pretty darn quiet all-in-all.
Helen & Don were as different as night and day. Helen nurtured the women's wing. Don shuffled through the men's wing. Helen took such pride in her work. Being a typical "spunky" just about 20 year-old that summer, it took me quite a while to appreciate the fine, caring details that Helen tended to. I truly learned how to use old toothbrushes to their fullest advantage that summer: cleaning all of the corners in stairways, polishing faucets and spigots in the shower room, brushing grime out of window frames....
In the men's wing... it was a whole different scene. One morning, the summer's boarders had left a message in their shower room, "Don do your job!" smeared in mud on the biggest wall. There was shaving cream smeared, ice cream bars melted and smeared, popcorn strewn, pizzas sliding down the wall... you name it. When Don & I walked in to do the daily cleaning, both of us stood there with dropped jaws. Don exclaimed, "I'm not paid to do this! Take care of this right away." Hmmph... yes, I had a twisted temper... How did I "pay him back" for making me take care of all of that? I went into the Janitor's closet and found an orphan jug of Lysol, thickly covered with dust. I then grabbed a bucket and the biggest scrub brush that I could find. I cleaned that whole shower room, ceiling to floor, using that entire gallon jug of Lysol. Yep, a weird kind of pay back. It worked, however, because when Don inspected my work, he snarked, "You used Lysol, didn't you?"
I learned so much from Helen & Don that summer. I have quietly thanked Helen numerous times through the years. I have been mad at Don for too long, however. It's silly to be angry at someone who doesn't like to clean or use Lysol. I've wasted my energy in a negative way for far too long.
And, guess what? I still am a Cleaning Lady :) I lovingly take care of our home. Some of my most treasured days are the days that I can stay home, boycott the car, and remember Helen quietly, lovingly tending to the details.