Life can be quite comparable to the life of a janitor.
Janitors. You wake up. Go to wherever it is you work. Be it a school, a store, or the MTC in my case. You know it's not the most fun job in the world, but you know it's important nonetheless. You don't know why, but sometimes you do more than you really need to. Although, at times, I can admit, there are moments when you go really slow in hopes to pass up the next half hour.
You do the same exact thing every day. At times, it seems tedious. WHY?! Why must I clean this blasted toilet every single day? Do these stairs really need to be mopped daily? Couldn't we put off the vacuuming until tomorrow? Questions like these leak into your mind. And then comes the realization. If these things are this dirty in one day, even if not extremely, but a little bit, they will surely be that much dirtier tomorrow. Our daily cleaning of these things may not be because the stairs or the hallways will be hideous tomorrow, but it will prevent it from being capable of ever becoming too dirty. If we were to let these daily chores go unmanaged, it would only take us harder work to remove all of the filth in the end anyways. And so we do those tasks...every... single... day. Clean the bathrooms, vacuum the stairs and hallways, mop the stairs, vacuum the entrances, clean the windows, and take out the trash (and more)... every... single... day. Why? Because it keeps the building safe from ever becoming too dirty.
Our co-workers make things bearable and the job enjoyable. Honestly, work would be miserable without the ridiculous jokes you exchange with your co-workers. From moving plants into the elevator and pretending it's a jungle to dancing with the mops, your co-workers make you smile. It makes getting up a little better. Also, if you don't show up to work you know that their work will be even more difficult without you. They need you. So you come. Work sometimes becomes a lot like helping a friend.
Our super-visor sees things differently than we do. Our best may not be his best; our worst, not his worst. Sometimes we need another perspective to put us in our place. We might think the bathroom dividers are spotless, upon the Supervisors examination however, we find that they aren't quite as clean as they should be. Other times, we scrub at something forever and it never seems to look good enough. We go at it for a while, fearing what our Supervisor might say. Later on, she says it looks great. I guess it wasn't that bad after all... I did a good job? Hmm.
You get paid. Perhaps not a heafty income, but an income nonetheless. The pay is definitely not amazing, but it is pay. It's the reason, above all others, we get up and do our job. To lay up some small treasure that we can use to live and pay for those things we need. You signed up for the job, you needed the money, you work hard to earn it, and it becomes that much sweeter when you're awarded it. You can say, "I earned this."
Although, you don't get much credit from those who benefit from your work, they would surely notice if you stopped. Sometimes a janitor can feel a bit belittled. Watching all the people with the "real" jobs walking to their classrooms or going about their business. You wonder if your job really even matters. The truth is, it REALLY does. More than you know. Because as soon as you stopped what you were doing, people would notice. Their lives would become a little bit more hectic, a little less enjoyable, and a little more difficult. They may not know it even, but it's true. Plus, your supervisor needs you. Without you he might not even have a job... who knows? Either way you're needed. Whether or not the gratitude is expressed or neglected, you're appreciated.
Last, but not least you can sing as you work. Much of my time cleaning is never left unaccompanied by a fun tune. It makes me happy. It lightens the spirit even when the work is hard. It's that little bliss you can find in the not-so-great circumstance of cleaning a toilet.
