A Day in the Life...

Young Single Adults was the order of the day.  We went to the center as soon as we got up and got ourselves ready to go.  We worked on lunch ...until lunch! ...and served it at 12:30.

The reason for the get-together today was a training meeting for all of the committee members who have been called.  The chairmen of the YSA program were new when we were new here and have been working on getting committee chairs called, as well as committee members.  I think we have 8 or 9 different committees, and if all of the people called had been at the meeting today, we would have had well over 40 at lunch.  As it was, we served 30.

As an activity to help people realize how much better it is when we have many people working together rather than just one or  two doing all the work, we had a demonstration of lifting a chair with a person on with one finger.  It obviously couldn't be done.  But then with 12 people, each lifting with one finger, it was possible not only to life a young woman up in the air, but high up in the air.  I didn't see it, but I have heard from several....it really worked!  I wish I could have taken a picture of that.

We set the tables today and decorated them with an Easter theme.  I found quite a few Easter decorations in our apartment and scattered them along the centers of the tables.  We filled the glasses and put them and the knives and forks with folded napkins on the tables.  Normally we just put tablecloths on and everything else is picked up at the serving line.

I should have taken a picture, but it looked nice.  I wanted it to look especially nice because this was an Occasion.  We had excellent speakers...our stake president and one of his counselors, a member of the high council who represents the YSA program and the couple who is in charge of the YSA programs in Scandinavia.  From what I hear they all were inspiring and motivating in teaching leadership skills.

The lasagne got done on time, the bread was good, the salad looked great, and the fruit pizzas were beautiful  and were very tasty.  Whew!  Other than the usual stress for the last half hour with getting everything on the table at the proper time, it all turned out fine.

Several pitched in to help clean up and then sat around for awhile visiting.  We got home around 4 in the afternoon, and I promptly fell asleep!  After an hour it was time to get ready to go to the Olsen's home for an evening with the YSAs from our ward.  We had 5 there, which seemed perfect for visiting.  Dinner and conversation were both excellent.

We watched a DVD of highlights of "Romeo and Juliet"..a gorgeous ballet starring Christina from our branch....our fairy-tale princess who is married to the handsome prince.  The queen was in attendance at that particular performance.

The music, the dancing and  the story were all so very beautiful, and brought me to tears.  The emotion was easy to read.  Even knowing just the barest of outlines of the story would be enough for most people to understand what is going on.

I would love to experience that in person because the staging and the theater were magnificent...and I got so caught up in it just on TV, that I imagine it would be a truly incredible experience to see it all unfold right before my eyes.

 We ended the evening with ice cream topped with whipped cream (no one sweetens whipped cream around here or bothers adding vanilla, because it is already very sweet and soooooooooooo good) and sitting around the dining room table visiting.  Funny how missions are always an interesting topic.  One young man served in Greece, which he loved, another in England, which he loved, and a young woman served in Temple Square -Salt Lake City, which she adored.

In listening to them and many others, I just have to conclude that a mission is one of the nicest things one can do for oneself....ever....and not just for 18 and 19 year olds.