I love my whooole house!

Remember that cute little Youtube vid (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qR3rK0kZFkg ) where lil miss Blond Curly-Cue is standing in front of her bathroom mirror, so enthusiastic about life going “I love my dad! I love my mom! I love my Allisons! I love my hair! I love my haircut! I love my whole house! I can do anything…” etc.? Not only one of the cutest things of all time, but also how I feel right now, and how I felt when I came home to Provo last night J These last few weeks have been an adventure. I’ve had the privilege of being surrounded by some of the greatest human beans in California, young and older-than-young alike, and I can say with great gusto that my perspective on life has changed a lot; these kids are such an example to me and humble me daily. Being a counselor to teenagers is fun, but being an EFY counselor to baby prophets, apostles, teachers, and relief society mommies is ten times better, and I shall tell you why.

1.      I’ve never seen boys ages 14-18 so enthusiastic anywhere else to take trays, open doors, make roses out of napkins, and write c.o.w. (crush of the week) notes and love songs to sing to girls they’ve only known for a few days.

2.      Part of the magic of EFY is how easy it is to become best friends so quickly with people. I would literally die for my fellow counselors (and kids). Sounds a bit drastic.

3.      I’ve never before said in my life that I “want to be a mom so bad!” Except last week.

4.      Referring back to #1, in Redlands where there were soccer camps going on at the same time (which shall also be touched on later, as a certain Brazilian bombshell [ß can you use that word to describe a male?] soccer counselor caught my eye), I saw not once but twice, darling little soccer kids following the example my EFY kids set and taking the trays of their own comrades to the cafeteria conveyor belt for them. Totes presh. But really, it melted my heart.

5.      Brazilian bombshell. Not LDS. Beautiful, dark, and exotic. And I can’t say anything else about my little crush on him or it will venture into realms of inappropriateness.

6.      My girls and boys love each other. So much so that they weep together, get tissues for each other and grab each other in fierce hugs, feel the Spirit together and feel that bond of togetherness that sometimes is a first for them, from EFY.

7.      It’s like being a parent and missionary at the same time, being an EFY counselor, or at least like training for both. What could be a better combination?

8.      Where else can you dance to honestly the most annoying and tacky “everyday” music and have a total blast? With lights on? And where else are kids talking so loudly while they slow-dance (getting to know each other and asking stupid questions like “So what color is your toothbrush?”) that you can’t hear the actual song in the background?

9.      Is EFY reality? No. Is it one of the greatest inventions of my Church for the teenagers of today? Yes. I have such a huge testimony of it, the powerful thing that it can be, and how possible it is for a whole life to be changed in five days, even one as young as 14.

There are so many stories I could tell about this absolutely fantastic last week, and I’m starting to forget them all so I need to write them down in my actual journal before I do forget. But this general summery hopefully hits all the spots. I love EFY J And my bébé’s. And my co-counselors. And my other counselors. And my BC’s. And my brothers. And the beach. And BYU. And thunder storms. And my roommates… 

it's easy to get tired on the job