Left Behind

Posted by Braden

The vast majority of the boys in my hall are going on missions this summer, and a lot of them live far from Provo. With no need for leftover spices, core ingredients, or kitchenware in the near future, many of them opted for the "I'll-just-give-it-to-DI-and-buy-more-when-I-get-back" option.

The result? Because I love my older sister, who agreed to wake up at 4:30 in the morning to drive me to the Salt Lake City airport for my flight home, I collected. A few pots, a few pans, a pie plate, a billion spatulas, wooden spoons, silverware, tupperware of every shape and size, a toaster, a nice track jacket, two sleeping bags, a new pillow, a laptop case—these are just a few of the things boys gave me as they were leaving, or things they left for me to pick up after they left. And then there was the food—from my apartment alone, my sister got roughly $250 of nonperishable foodstuffs: cans of vegetables, boxes of crackers, packs of hot pockets, jars of peanut butter, bags of marshmallows, stacks of ramen noodles, etc.

The advantage of leaving early? You don't have to throw away the stuff that nobody wanted, and cleaning jobs are a bit easier.

The advantage of leaving late? Lots and lots of free stuff.