Upper Classman

Brittany’s back in school and since she’s got five 8:00a.m classes; the 7:30a.m calls have started again! On the first day of school she called me as she got on the campus shuttle bus and we talked until she got to her classroom door. As she was getting off the shuttle I heard her say to someone else, “Yes, that’s the library” – and then back to me – “Freshmen…they’re so precious! There’s a HUGE sign right out front that says “Library”.

At the end of that day I got another call from her: “Mom, I need you to say a prayer!”
“Oh, ok – what’s the matter?”
“I need you to pray that the school shuttle bus comes because I’ve been standing out here for 20 minutes and I’m HOT!”
Juniors…they’re so precious! They think everyone is just waiting around to jump at their commands.

One of the classes she’s taking for her hospitality minor is hotel front desk. Yes, I guess I’m paying for that. I’m not sure why, since she’s been working at a hotel’s front desk since last spring. I told her she’d better get an A.

That job has actually given us lots of opportunities to communicate all summer.
Sometimes by text like the one I got in the middle of the day: “Thank u for being wonderful! I luv u!” I called her to ask what the occasion was and she said she had just checked a family in and the dad was being mean to his daughter, which she said made her appreciate her parents.

Then I got a call one Sunday morning as I was headed out the door to church. She told me about a mom who was dropping her freshman daughter off at Western and was sobbing so hard as she checked out she tried to pay her hotel bill with her Home Depot card. That made Brittany miss her mom so she called me.

Another time she called to tell me about the men who were staying for a week in the hotel while they put security cameras up on campus. She said one guy would quietly walk up to the desk everyday, wait until she looked up and then he would put a fresh peach in front of her, smile and walk away.

A different experience was the woman who called down for a plunger. Brittany put one in a plastic bag and kept her fingers crossed the woman would take the plunger at the door. But no, she invited her in. The woman did use the plunger herself – still in it’s plastic bag. So Brittany had to put the whole wet mess into the trashcan to carry it back downstairs.

She’s kept me entertained with her stories, but the reason I share these is to remind people to be careful how they act in hotels. Front desk clerks have phones and some have moms on the other end of the line!

I don’t mind the calls; I just wish she wouldn’t be so perky at 7:30a.m!