It Said . . . Double double toil and trouble.

(L-R)  me, Chris, Kathy
Brenda

The only line I know of a Shakespeare play is “double, double, toil and trouble.” Miss Popplewell assigned us a project on Macbeth my senior year of high school, and I chose to do something from the witches’ chant. I made a ketchup based brew in a Dutch oven and added a lump of dry ice to make it boil. That thick, bubbling potion splattered all over the light gray carpet in my grandma’s luxury car as she drove us both to school. (Wait! I just remembered another Shakespearean line from Lady Macbeth, “Out, damned spot. Out, I say!”) It was a hassle making and transporting the stuff, but I got a memorable “A” on the project and a memorized phrase.

Recently I began serving in the Stake Relief Society with this group of women. They are one extremely talented and creative group with a wide variety of experience. They are kind and sensitive to important things and I have loved serving with them. We had a stake Relief Society training meeting approaching and Chris, the Relief Society president, told us of an idea she wanted to implement. She said she realized it wasn’t typical nor characteristic, but that it would be a fun way to let the women know that someone cares about them and the loads they carry.  It would help convey that we are willing to help them with their responsibilities. Her idea was to decorate (and when Chris uses that term, it means transforms the room) with a witches theme. “Witches” was the acronym for wonderful, inspired, talented, creative, enthusiastic, and spiritual . . . women. The cultural hall looked like a wedding reception (if your theme was purple, black, whimsy, and witches). There was a popcorn cupboard in one corner where you could take down a variety of items from the shelves to add to your bag of caramel popcorn (each topping had a virtue label). The cookie table had wooden trays with a half dozen different kinds of cookies displayed at varying heights and with brown plastic worms sneaking out from under some of the cookies. The photo booth had lots of props, and the milk and apple juice dispensers sat on a wooden barrel. Each table had a centerpiece of pumpkins and witches. In the corners and spare spaces there were trees made of barren branches and crows perched in them. Even the piano back was covered in a black and orange polka dot tablecloth.

After the meeting, and as we were taking down the decorations, I was thinking of the women’s reactions before, during, and after the meeting. The phrase, “double, double, toil and trouble,” popped into my head.  It was apropos – Chris was willing to put in a lot of trouble and a double effort to make sure the Relief Society presidencies in our stake had a place to gather that could generate enthusiasm, and a fun place where women could visit and learn.  My observation was that Chris' vision had been realized.

These "callings" to serve usually last awhile  – enough time for me to memorize more Shakespeare as I expect to learn a lot from these good women. 

(This post is part of a 31 Day Writing Challenge hosted by Myquillyn Smith  To see other posts in the I Said . . .  series, click here)