Chad David

Chad was the first of the Torgersons born into the Meinhardt house. As a little girl (I think I was seven), I thought he was so lucky to have that house all his own--for it to be the house he grew up in. We moved soon enough after (three years or so) that I am sure he didn't care one way or the other, but I did.

When Chad was a little boy he tended to get lost in the crowd--literally. He had four older siblings to compete with, and he wasn't the in-your-face type. I remember he would sometimes come into the kitchen on a summer day around 2:00 or 3:00 and ask, "What's for breakfast?" We would look at him in disbelief and horror while he would go to the pantry cupboard and look for something (usually a rice krispy treat) or ask someone to make him a toasted bagel with peanut butter, melted cheese, and cinnamon sugar. He always like the weirdest food combinations (another of his favorites was soda crackers with cheese and a giant melted marshmallow. I am serious).

He has also always been a home body. He would rather stay home than go to one of Blake's games (I definitely understood that mentality growing up too) or wherever else everyone was going. Unlike his sisters, he had no qualms with being left home alone. In fact, I think he prefered it. Usually he playing a video game, IMing with someone, or during his high school years, finishing up his hours of homework.

That is definitely something I admire about Chad: he worked his way through school. He is one smart kid, that is for sure. His brain easily wraps around math or science problems. It was important to him to got to BYU and from his freshman year on, he worked hard for it.

He didn't just work in school, though. I think we were all surprised his freshman year when he announced that he was going to try out for football. We were a baseball and soccer family. This was definitely a new adventure to have a Torgerson on the football field. He made it onto the Freshman team that year and worked his tail end off to make it into whatever games he could. We sort of wondered if it would be a one-year thing when the season ended. No way. Not Chad. When he starts something, he finishes. He ended up playing all four years and working hard every single one of them.

His work ethic definitely carried with him this year into BYU. He is the laid back type (which is why, I'm sure, he was the "lost" child in the family all growing up.) Things don't rile him up too much or too fast. But when he feels strongly about something, he does it. Getting to BYU was one of those things. Doing well at BYU was another. I loved talking to Chad this last year. He was always calling to chat, get help with papers, or to get advice. I could tell he had jumped in with both feet. He made friends, got out, did new things, worked hard in his classes, fulfilled his church calling, and had a great year. He was a BYU boy in every sense of the phrase.

This last semester he worked hard to get his mission papers in. I was just about bouncing off my seat when he called me one Friday afternoon to say he had been called to the Tampico, Mexico mission. I can't tell you how excited I am that he will be speaking Spanish. I know he will be an outstanding missionary because he is level headed, easy going, hard working, sincere, dedicated, has a testimony, and is oh, so funny! He is so ready for this new adventure to begin.

A last note about Chaddy. I feel we are kindred spirits, well, for quite a few reasons, one being that he is a fellow red-head. We grew up as one of the three redheads of the family--it created immediate bonding. But he has the advantage of being a boy and getting to experiment with the fro. I just want to add that Chad has one of the best fros around when his hair is long. It becomes a curly, thick mass that takes over his head and I love it.

And I love him! Happy Birthday, Chaddy! I hope you've had a great day :).