It's My Life - Melody Carlson [19]
Anyway, as things were winding down, I heard Josh telling Greg about the situation with Zach and saying that it'd sure be cool if Zach could come on the Mexico missions trip too, if there was enough room. And Greg said he'd look into it and that Zach had already earned some money toward the trip last spring. So, who knows, maybe Zach will get to come too.
Sunday, August 5 (one week before Mexico!)
Zach came to church and youth group with Josh today, and it was so good to see him there. Everyone just welcomed him back like nothing had ever happened, and I think Zach appreciated that. I mean, you can only tell your story about how you've blown it so many times,… Anyway, I saw him talking with Greg after youth group, then Greg gave him a big hug. It feels like Zach's back for the long haul. And that's a good feeling. Beanie has told me that she's trying to keep a distance between them, for his sake as well as hers. She says for the time being, she would rather just be a casual friend, not even a close one, and I think that's wise on her part. In fact, that's how I feel about Josh. And I think he understands.
Greg announced that the Mexico missions group would meet every night this week to prepare for what we'll be doing one week from now. I can't wait!
After church, Andrea and Beanie and I went to a matinee. And surprisingly, it was pretty good and clean too. Maybe Hollywood can do films for those of us who aren't into all that gratuitous sex and violence–wouldn't they be surprised to know that we're out here? Then we decided to do something a little weird. (It was Beanie's idea and was actually inspired from a scene in the movie, which was about doing random acts of kindness). And to our surprise, Andrea wanted to come along and do it with us. At first I thought it was because she didn't want to be left out, but when it was all said and done, I think she just wanted to help. Sometimes I think I'm too hard on Andrea, too judgmental and harsh (probably because she's a lot like me and sometimes people just assume girls like us are totally shallow and superficial, which we can be, of course, but not always!).
Anyway, this is what we did. I drove over to Beanie's mom's house. We weren't sure if she'd even be home or not, but thankfully her car was gone. And Beanie (who still has a key to the door) let us in. And, oh man, that place was worse than ever, and for a minute I felt really sorry and embarrassed for Beanie. (I mean, because Andrea was there, and I'm sure Beanie felt totally humiliated by this.) But you know what Andrea said: “Hey, your mom and my dad would make a perfect couple!” Then she explained what a slob her dad was and how she and I had played maids at the cabin (the weekend that Beanie thought I was off having the time of my life!), and we all had a good laugh!
Then we rolled up our sleeves, and like three white tornadoes, just attacked the place (taking turns to keep an eye on the driveway in case Lynn popped in). I had parked my car down the block (not that Lynn would even recognize it), and if Beanie's mom were to suddenly come home, our plan was to take off out the back door, hop over the fence, and sprint through the neighbor's yard. Anyway, we spent over three hours there, and I've never seen that little place look so good. When we finished, we were so proud that I wished we'd brought a camera along and taken before and after photos. (We might have won some contest or at least had good résumés for housecleaning services; not that I'd like to make a career of that, specially after today!) Anyway, we were just putting a note beneath a little