I can't think of good titles for these blogs... "Busy Day/Week" is what I want to call this one, but that wouldn't distinguish it well enough from any of the countless others!
Last Monday I went to Clay County to help Jane with her Christmas Basket sign ups. I had gotten to the point where I didn't want to see another CB sign up sheet ever again! I was so tired of asking ladies if they'd like a sheet set or cookware, or suggesting that their husbands may like hunting or fishing equipment or a good pair of work boots. Overall, the day went well enough. I just had this one family that barged into my office not once but TWICE to ask me questions regarding their proof of income. Seriously?? Wait until I'm done with this person! It didn't help much that the woman appeared to be of below average intelligence. I felt sort of sorry for them, but it was still majorly irritating. Pam Azanza, I met your twin in Clay County! She's a volunteer with elderly services and she's also from Southern Cali. She's petite and sweet and you both even sound alike! I even went so far as to ask her if she knew you. She didn't. haha.
On Tuesday we went to Natural Bridge for another Family Advocacy meeting. We really nailed down what we are going to be focusing on, while still leaving room for alterations as we go. I won't miss driving out there, squashed in the middle seat, but I will miss hearing Owen's colloquialisms and stories. We're meeting again in either January or February. Julia stayed for dinner at the Rockcastle and we had THREE prospectives also staying with us, so it was a full house. One of those prospectives, Kristi, returned last night (Sunday) to begin her time of service. She's actually been living out of her car recently, having just packed up her life in Washington state and wandered across the country until getting to CAP. I only know a couple tidbits of her life story, but she is really turning out to be such an inspiration to me.
On Wednesday it poured. I'm so glad I decided to bring my lovely rainboots back with me when I went home for the wedding. They came in handy. I spent a lot of time out of the office, picking up School Readiness vouchers from the Family Dollar, going to a meeting at the volunteer offices, and the like.
Thursday was sunny. I explored my office in the morning and found these gems: Richard Simmons workout tapes, one of those 20 questions electronic handheld games, and - wait for it - an original polaroid camera, WITH film! And these were just things in the office, not including all the stuff in closets I've yet to explore. Sarah and I used a good part of the afternoon to practice swerving backwards through cones (stupidest. skill. ever.) down at the community center, so I saw Jenny before she officially left the valley. Sarah really helped me to understand my reference points, although even she agreed that my mirrors are totally screwed up. See, it's not just me.
On Friday I helped out at the pantry since I didn't have much going on and "the truck" (aka God's Pantry) was coming. Elaine, Nancy, and I went through these huge bags of carrots and put the healthy ones in smaller bags to hand out. We came across some really funky looking mutant carrots. That evening Sarah, Mandy, Karen, and I helped Grace move in at Berea College. We kept joking about how we probably looked like a crazy cult or commune. I kept telling "Sister Grace" that we were going to miss her labor come harvest time. We hung around Berea a bit, walked around campus, ate Mexican, met Grace's roomie and said our goodbyes. I'm sorry Carl wasn't there to provide the "father figure" role, but I'm glad we girls could be Grace's stand-in family. I know I would have really appreciated it if I was from California and didn't have any biological family helping me move in. We have promised to periodically kidnap Grace for some CAP fun.
On Saturday Mandy, Karen, Sarah, Elaine, and I went hiking at Anglin Falls in Rockcastle Co. You actually drive up someone's driveway to get there. And the sign is like a homemade looking sign. Sounds sketchy, but it's pretty cool. It rained, but luckily we found shelter and waited it out. The misquitos were awful! But we also saw a ton of butterflies all over the place, flying in swarms.
I actually logged some work hours on Sunday because I had to help receive some school supply donations from GE with Sr. Robbie. This guy and his wife delivered them and we talked for a bit. They were really nice and excited to hear about what we're doing at CAP. A lot of the time it seems like outsiders have more enthusiasm for the program than I do... I see the day-in day-out grind, which can sometimes wear me down and can cause me to be pessimistic about people in general. That's why I love talking with groups that come to volunteer or donors... because they have an enthusiasm that is contagious. It's something that reminds you why you signed on in the first place. I talked with Sr. Robbie about that, and hopefully I'll get to help her out more this fall, hosting groups.
And today? I cleaned up a lot of old documents from the computer mostly. Helped a couple people with disconnect notices (I think I'm technically over budget for the month, but it should even out over the 5 counties). Talked to three seperate Brescia staff members on the phone! Yay! But it made me miss Brescia so much!
So that's been my week.... busy. fruitful. full of change.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Rain Is a Good Thing
Last night some volunteers from the Mt Vernon, Jackson, and McCreary Houses went to the drive-in in Somerset as a send-off for Lucas, Ludivine, and Jenny. Lucas and Ludivine left today and Jenny will be leaving midway through this week. The Jackson crew drove down to Mt Vernon, and then we met up with the McCreary bunch in Somerset where we had dinner at Fazoli's (Did you know Fazoli's began in Lexington?? And that it's more of a "Kentucky thing"?) I think we had about thirteen people all together.
We stepped outside of the restaurant to find huge black clouds rolling in from the west. Everything in the air that was blowing around us said it was fixing to storm. As if the powerful wind wasn't enough, lightning was going off like Christmas tree lights. I don't think I've ever seen as much lightning. It felt so good to stand outside and feel that wind while we tried to make a decision regarding the movie. We ended up sticking with the original plan. As much as I love the drive-in, I wasn't sure how this was going to work out, as it was clearly about to storm. Luckily, the Mt Vernon group had driven the CAP minivan. We put down the back seats and sat in the back with the back hatch open. The six of us got pretty close, and it was a little warm, but the storm air kept us cool. Not long after we parked it started pouring. I'm talking sheets and sheets of rain, pounding on the roof so loudly that it was hard to hear the movie (turned all the way up on the radio).
Lucas was so excited about the fact that we were sitting in the middle of a storm watching a movie. His giddiness was contagious. It was cool. Even after the heavy rain and thunder stopped (about 15 minutes into the movie) lightning continued to light up the sky for the rest of the night. It was the kind that leaped from cloud to cloud, making the sky behind the giant screen a pinkish purple. Nature outshone the silver screen that night. This morning Lucas said that he'd always remember that night. I have to agree. I'm glad we stayed.
It makes me think about the plans we make in life: they don't always turn out exactly as we thought, but I guess they turn out just the way they should.
The McCreary branch drove straight home after the second movie, but the Jackson group drove back to Mt Vernon to spend the night. As we drove home, Carl got a call that his father passed away that evening. His parents just celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary a couple weeks ago, and Carl and all his siblings had gone out to Arizona to visit them. I'm really glad that they all got to spend time with their dad not long before his passing. Carl seems to be handling it well, his dad was 92, and Carl had suspected that he didn't have much longer when he last saw him. The ride home was a quiet one as Carl called his siblings and tried to figure out travel arrangements. When we got to the Mt Vernon house, we all just sat around the living room, bundled up in comforters (in true sleepover fashion) and talked with Carl. It was a really great community moment. Carl told us how much the entire CAP community meant to him, and that he thought of us all as grandchildren. After Carl and Jenny went upstairs to bed, it was about 2 am and everything was hilarious: things such as "Do bugs breathe?" / "carbonbunoxide" / any country song lyrics, but especially Luke Bryan's classic "Rain Is a Good Thing" / and the way Bridget snorts when she laughs.
This morning I went to Mass in Berea and then went to the Mt Vernon house for breakfast with the Jackson House. Lucas made banana and chocolate chip pancakes. Yum! Then it was time to say goodbye to Lucas and Ludivine. Although I haven't spent a lot of time with Lucas, it was still a hard goodbye. That's just the way things are, sometimes you've only known someone a short time, but they make such an impact on her your heart that it seems much longer. And of course there is the flip side, when you wait anxiously for particularly difficult housemates to give their goodbyes. Anyway, Ludivine is going back to Paris, but she loves Kentucky, so I have a feeling that I may see her again. Lucas is much closer, in Cincinnati, and I know he'll be back at CAP every now and then. It was also hard to say goodbye to the Jackson House in general, the ones who aren't even leaving, because it feels like I don't get to see them very often and they're so much fun to be around. They invited me to come hang out sometime, so I'll have to take them up on that offer.
Speaking of hard goodbyes, I got several pieces of mail on Saturday (my most in one day - 4! and 2 were packages!). One of the packages contained my mix CDs from Olivia! I wish she could still be here with me. I know she would have had fun at the drive-in. And don't even get me started on what it will be like to say goodybe to Jenny this week. I think it will be my hardest goodbye of the whole experience - not just so far, but possibly of the entire 11 months. I can project this theory because Jenny is the only person I will have worked so closely with.
So it was a really great weekend! But oh I hate these goodbyes.
We stepped outside of the restaurant to find huge black clouds rolling in from the west. Everything in the air that was blowing around us said it was fixing to storm. As if the powerful wind wasn't enough, lightning was going off like Christmas tree lights. I don't think I've ever seen as much lightning. It felt so good to stand outside and feel that wind while we tried to make a decision regarding the movie. We ended up sticking with the original plan. As much as I love the drive-in, I wasn't sure how this was going to work out, as it was clearly about to storm. Luckily, the Mt Vernon group had driven the CAP minivan. We put down the back seats and sat in the back with the back hatch open. The six of us got pretty close, and it was a little warm, but the storm air kept us cool. Not long after we parked it started pouring. I'm talking sheets and sheets of rain, pounding on the roof so loudly that it was hard to hear the movie (turned all the way up on the radio).
Lucas was so excited about the fact that we were sitting in the middle of a storm watching a movie. His giddiness was contagious. It was cool. Even after the heavy rain and thunder stopped (about 15 minutes into the movie) lightning continued to light up the sky for the rest of the night. It was the kind that leaped from cloud to cloud, making the sky behind the giant screen a pinkish purple. Nature outshone the silver screen that night. This morning Lucas said that he'd always remember that night. I have to agree. I'm glad we stayed.
It makes me think about the plans we make in life: they don't always turn out exactly as we thought, but I guess they turn out just the way they should.
The McCreary branch drove straight home after the second movie, but the Jackson group drove back to Mt Vernon to spend the night. As we drove home, Carl got a call that his father passed away that evening. His parents just celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary a couple weeks ago, and Carl and all his siblings had gone out to Arizona to visit them. I'm really glad that they all got to spend time with their dad not long before his passing. Carl seems to be handling it well, his dad was 92, and Carl had suspected that he didn't have much longer when he last saw him. The ride home was a quiet one as Carl called his siblings and tried to figure out travel arrangements. When we got to the Mt Vernon house, we all just sat around the living room, bundled up in comforters (in true sleepover fashion) and talked with Carl. It was a really great community moment. Carl told us how much the entire CAP community meant to him, and that he thought of us all as grandchildren. After Carl and Jenny went upstairs to bed, it was about 2 am and everything was hilarious: things such as "Do bugs breathe?" / "carbonbunoxide" / any country song lyrics, but especially Luke Bryan's classic "Rain Is a Good Thing" / and the way Bridget snorts when she laughs.
This morning I went to Mass in Berea and then went to the Mt Vernon house for breakfast with the Jackson House. Lucas made banana and chocolate chip pancakes. Yum! Then it was time to say goodbye to Lucas and Ludivine. Although I haven't spent a lot of time with Lucas, it was still a hard goodbye. That's just the way things are, sometimes you've only known someone a short time, but they make such an impact on her your heart that it seems much longer. And of course there is the flip side, when you wait anxiously for particularly difficult housemates to give their goodbyes. Anyway, Ludivine is going back to Paris, but she loves Kentucky, so I have a feeling that I may see her again. Lucas is much closer, in Cincinnati, and I know he'll be back at CAP every now and then. It was also hard to say goodbye to the Jackson House in general, the ones who aren't even leaving, because it feels like I don't get to see them very often and they're so much fun to be around. They invited me to come hang out sometime, so I'll have to take them up on that offer.
Speaking of hard goodbyes, I got several pieces of mail on Saturday (my most in one day - 4! and 2 were packages!). One of the packages contained my mix CDs from Olivia! I wish she could still be here with me. I know she would have had fun at the drive-in. And don't even get me started on what it will be like to say goodybe to Jenny this week. I think it will be my hardest goodbye of the whole experience - not just so far, but possibly of the entire 11 months. I can project this theory because Jenny is the only person I will have worked so closely with.
So it was a really great weekend! But oh I hate these goodbyes.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Christmas Basket Sign Ups
I'm way too tired to give an in-depth update of the past week, but here it is in a nutshell:
Monday - Drove to Owsley County. Did Christmas Basket sign ups
Tuesday - Drove to McCreary County. Did Christmas Basket sign ups
Wednesday - Christmas Basket sign ups in Rockcastle County.
Thursday - Christmas Basket sign ups in Rockcastle County.
Friday - Recovering from Christmas Basket sign ups. Called it a day around 2.
The sign ups in Owsley and McCreary weren't bad at all. There were five of us in Owsley and three in McCreary, but both of those counties had a relatively small turn out compared to Rockcastle. I think as of now we have about 130 signed up for our county - which is technically over the limit.
And the sign ups themselves were just a madhouse. People were lined up long before we got there at 8 am. Then they all tried to cram into the air conditioned (and small) office. People would leave the door open and there were flies all over the place. We still have three or four flying around our office! Even though the air was on, it was hot and stuffy in the lobby of the office b/c of all the bodies crammed in there. It's like a refugee camp.
Sign ups are tiring!! It takes way more energy than you would think. And of course we still have people calling and wanting to sign up - I don't want to hear another call about it. Some people get really hostile when you tell them they can't sign up! Two people were rude to my face about it (one thought Jenny was accusing her granddaughter of being a fugitive, and the other tried to slam my office door - which is incapable of slamming since it gets stuck at the door jam), and another woman on the phone wasn't rude but she did keep talking on and on about how I should be careful of false prophets and how her toilet fell through the floor of her trailer.
I did have a very nice time in McCreary. The last lady I signed up was blind (she was just recently blinded within the past year and she may have MS). We had a nice long talk about what careers she thought I should go into (Public Relations or Special Education were her choices for me). I really enjoyed visiting with her and her mother. She was so upbeat for someone who has had such rough luck the last few years. I wish I could write more about her, but I don't know where to start and I'm just too worn out. I ended up staying for dinner at the McCreary house and I'm glad I did b/c Shanna made yummy Taco Bread.
Another interesting tidbit of the week, courtesy of the Mt Vernon Signal: A female wedding crasher in Brodhead stole some gift cards from the gift table and ran off. A male guest at the wedding heard about this while in line for cake. He kicked off his dress shoes and ran after her. There were some quotes from the guest in the article, one beginning "I was like, 'Woman, you can't do that...'" They apprehended the woman (who was running toward her accomplice in a purple Camaro) before she got away. She is now facing charges.
Next week is Jenny's last week, and my housemate Jen left this afternoon. I'll miss watching the Bachelorette / Bachelor Pad with both of them!
This Saturday some of us CAP volunteers from different houses are going to the drive-in in Somerset. I'm looking forward to just relaxing tonight and going out tomorrow.
Monday - Drove to Owsley County. Did Christmas Basket sign ups
Tuesday - Drove to McCreary County. Did Christmas Basket sign ups
Wednesday - Christmas Basket sign ups in Rockcastle County.
Thursday - Christmas Basket sign ups in Rockcastle County.
Friday - Recovering from Christmas Basket sign ups. Called it a day around 2.
The sign ups in Owsley and McCreary weren't bad at all. There were five of us in Owsley and three in McCreary, but both of those counties had a relatively small turn out compared to Rockcastle. I think as of now we have about 130 signed up for our county - which is technically over the limit.
And the sign ups themselves were just a madhouse. People were lined up long before we got there at 8 am. Then they all tried to cram into the air conditioned (and small) office. People would leave the door open and there were flies all over the place. We still have three or four flying around our office! Even though the air was on, it was hot and stuffy in the lobby of the office b/c of all the bodies crammed in there. It's like a refugee camp.
Sign ups are tiring!! It takes way more energy than you would think. And of course we still have people calling and wanting to sign up - I don't want to hear another call about it. Some people get really hostile when you tell them they can't sign up! Two people were rude to my face about it (one thought Jenny was accusing her granddaughter of being a fugitive, and the other tried to slam my office door - which is incapable of slamming since it gets stuck at the door jam), and another woman on the phone wasn't rude but she did keep talking on and on about how I should be careful of false prophets and how her toilet fell through the floor of her trailer.
I did have a very nice time in McCreary. The last lady I signed up was blind (she was just recently blinded within the past year and she may have MS). We had a nice long talk about what careers she thought I should go into (Public Relations or Special Education were her choices for me). I really enjoyed visiting with her and her mother. She was so upbeat for someone who has had such rough luck the last few years. I wish I could write more about her, but I don't know where to start and I'm just too worn out. I ended up staying for dinner at the McCreary house and I'm glad I did b/c Shanna made yummy Taco Bread.
Another interesting tidbit of the week, courtesy of the Mt Vernon Signal: A female wedding crasher in Brodhead stole some gift cards from the gift table and ran off. A male guest at the wedding heard about this while in line for cake. He kicked off his dress shoes and ran after her. There were some quotes from the guest in the article, one beginning "I was like, 'Woman, you can't do that...'" They apprehended the woman (who was running toward her accomplice in a purple Camaro) before she got away. She is now facing charges.
Next week is Jenny's last week, and my housemate Jen left this afternoon. I'll miss watching the Bachelorette / Bachelor Pad with both of them!
This Saturday some of us CAP volunteers from different houses are going to the drive-in in Somerset. I'm looking forward to just relaxing tonight and going out tomorrow.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Wedding Weekend
Got back to Rockcastle House at 9:40ish, with a note from Jenny saying we're leaving tomorrow morning at 7:15, so I have to keep this short and get to bed.
The wedding was great! Matt and Ashley were beautiful and I teared up a bit. I saw several Brescia / Owensboro friends at the wedding reception and afterwards around town (including running into a couple people that I didn't even expect to be in Owensboro!) It was so awesome to be back in that environment. I almost started crying as I drove into Owensboro on Friday afternoon because I was entering a town where I knew I had a lot of love and support. Not that Rockcastle isn't a nice enough area, but I'm still very new and it just isn't home to me (yet?)
I didn't get to see EVERYONE I wanted to, but I definitely plan on coming back to western KY for Labor Day weekend (if not before). And hopefully I'll have it planned out better so I can see all the people I missed this time around. I miss all of yall already!! The weekend felt so rushed... sometimes I felt that I wasn't fully "present" because I was running all over the place, doing a lot of driving and having rushed conversations. I truly apologize for that, and hopefully the next time I'm in town there will be more time to just sit and relax!!
And one more note: I talked to a couple different people about my blog this weekend and I wanted to make something clear - things are not always as they seem. Yes, I'm really really really happy about the work I'm doing here and I've met some cool people, but it is definitely not some walk around the garden. I'm still adjusting. I still miss everyone back in western KY a lot. I have issues with housemates. I sometimes feel lonely and out of place. I just didn't know how appropriate it would be to bring such things up. So just know that this journey is not an easy one and I need to know that I'm being supported from afar (though, not really very far).
I thought it would be very hard coming back to Rockcastle today after a weekend in Owensboro / Manitou, but so far so good. I'm so thankful for this weekend and all the beautiful people in it!
The wedding was great! Matt and Ashley were beautiful and I teared up a bit. I saw several Brescia / Owensboro friends at the wedding reception and afterwards around town (including running into a couple people that I didn't even expect to be in Owensboro!) It was so awesome to be back in that environment. I almost started crying as I drove into Owensboro on Friday afternoon because I was entering a town where I knew I had a lot of love and support. Not that Rockcastle isn't a nice enough area, but I'm still very new and it just isn't home to me (yet?)
I didn't get to see EVERYONE I wanted to, but I definitely plan on coming back to western KY for Labor Day weekend (if not before). And hopefully I'll have it planned out better so I can see all the people I missed this time around. I miss all of yall already!! The weekend felt so rushed... sometimes I felt that I wasn't fully "present" because I was running all over the place, doing a lot of driving and having rushed conversations. I truly apologize for that, and hopefully the next time I'm in town there will be more time to just sit and relax!!
And one more note: I talked to a couple different people about my blog this weekend and I wanted to make something clear - things are not always as they seem. Yes, I'm really really really happy about the work I'm doing here and I've met some cool people, but it is definitely not some walk around the garden. I'm still adjusting. I still miss everyone back in western KY a lot. I have issues with housemates. I sometimes feel lonely and out of place. I just didn't know how appropriate it would be to bring such things up. So just know that this journey is not an easy one and I need to know that I'm being supported from afar (though, not really very far).
I thought it would be very hard coming back to Rockcastle today after a weekend in Owensboro / Manitou, but so far so good. I'm so thankful for this weekend and all the beautiful people in it!
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Fail
On Friday I spent the whole morning and early afternoon at a required driver training session. Right now I am just a "temporary driver." After passing the class you become an official CAP driver. I can't really tell the difference between the two, as I've been driving the truck ever since I passed my temporary driver test with Robyn my first week.
The session was a lot like being back in the graduated licensing class in high school. We had to watch old videos and listen to an old man tell crash stories. We took ridiculously confusing tests on road signs and "What do you do when..." scenarios. Then in the afternoon we had the actual driving portion.
The test consisted of serpenting forward through 10-12 cones, and then doing it in reverse. And also backing into a parking space (into a circle of cones) and exiting. You had 10 seconds to do each of the 4 things. If you went over, you got a point deducted for every second and if you hit a cone I think you lost like 5 points? Anyway, I did just fine backing into the space and exiting. No problems whatsoever. And going forward through the cones was a piece of cake, but I had a lot of difficulty with the backwards driving. I hit one cone and took forever. Afterwards the instructor told me (privately thankfully!) that he was going to suggest that I redo the test next month when they have another training. I was so upset!! First of all, I only did badly on ONE section! And secondly, I had to use my mirrors the whole time (b/c of the way my truck is set up with the hood and all) which was confusing on which way I needed to turn and where I had already been... I don't know how to describe it, but it's all just very confusing. And so I couldn't look out my back windows at all, but I SAW another woman in a truck doing just that her whole time and she got to pass (her truck doesn't have the hood). Not fair!
So I guess I can still drive, but I'm not looking forward to telling Robyn that I didn't pass and have to go again. I just really hope I'm not the only one who failed. It makes me want to cry!!
Seriously, when am I EVER going to have to serpentine backwards through several obstacles??
The session was a lot like being back in the graduated licensing class in high school. We had to watch old videos and listen to an old man tell crash stories. We took ridiculously confusing tests on road signs and "What do you do when..." scenarios. Then in the afternoon we had the actual driving portion.
The test consisted of serpenting forward through 10-12 cones, and then doing it in reverse. And also backing into a parking space (into a circle of cones) and exiting. You had 10 seconds to do each of the 4 things. If you went over, you got a point deducted for every second and if you hit a cone I think you lost like 5 points? Anyway, I did just fine backing into the space and exiting. No problems whatsoever. And going forward through the cones was a piece of cake, but I had a lot of difficulty with the backwards driving. I hit one cone and took forever. Afterwards the instructor told me (privately thankfully!) that he was going to suggest that I redo the test next month when they have another training. I was so upset!! First of all, I only did badly on ONE section! And secondly, I had to use my mirrors the whole time (b/c of the way my truck is set up with the hood and all) which was confusing on which way I needed to turn and where I had already been... I don't know how to describe it, but it's all just very confusing. And so I couldn't look out my back windows at all, but I SAW another woman in a truck doing just that her whole time and she got to pass (her truck doesn't have the hood). Not fair!
So I guess I can still drive, but I'm not looking forward to telling Robyn that I didn't pass and have to go again. I just really hope I'm not the only one who failed. It makes me want to cry!!
Seriously, when am I EVER going to have to serpentine backwards through several obstacles??
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
A Very Hot Week Spent Indoors
The first half of the week has flown by since I've only been in the office about an hour total. I was in the office a little Monday morning before I drove down to Op Share in Corbin to drop off a heavy duty appliance dollie they'd let us borrow several weeks ago. I stopped for gas and used the Fleet One card for the first time. It was funny... the guy who was running the cash register asked me what CAP was and what we did. He said he'd seen several trucks that day come through for gas, and I guess he'd never heard of CAP before. Of course it was near impossible for me to explain all CAP does in a couple sentences, but with a line forming behind me there was no alternative. Then I drove to McCreary County to help Julia set up for her school readiness distribution. I got a tour of the famous McCreary trailer before heading back to Rockcastle.
Jenny, Robyn, and I drove straight to McCreary County Tuesday morning. Luckily Julia had way more help than the previous distributions, so we didn't really have to do too much work. A Jackson elderly services volunteer came to help, as did Julia's two sisters who were visiting, and a couple of older community volunteers - one nicknamed "Hot Shot". Hot Shot's wife thought I was Julia's sister and said I "favored her." We all got a laugh out of that. It was soooo hot that day, so I was glad to be in the air conditioned elementary-school-turned-community-center all day. It's nice to see the different set ups in each county. McCreary has a ton of space for programs and storage, and once they get the house built that place is going to be so busy I'm sure.
Last night I got some of my housemates to play some boardgames with me - Parcheesi, Trivial Pursuit, and some National Geographic photography game that looked like a cool Carmen San Diego type thing but we couldn't figure it out. And Julia came up to spend the night because....
We left this morning at 7:20ish (We originally were leaving at 7 am, but it got pushed back a little b/c Jenny had to run get a check from the office). Julia, Jenny, and I rode to Berea where we met up with Robyn and Anita (the manager of all the program managers). We all rode together to Natural Bridge State Park for a big Family Advocacy meeting. The Sandy Valley (east side) caseworkers and manager were there as well. It was my first time meeting all of them. I also finally met Jane, the Clay caseworker. The Sandy Valley runs things pretty differently, not just Family Advocacy but all of CAP it seems. It's like a totally different organization in some ways! Kinda confusing... so they're (or I should say "we're") in the process of revamping Family Advocacy - possibly changing the name (again), adding new programs / reintroducing old programs, etc. It's exciting, but sort of sad. I like the name Family Advocacy, and I'll be sad to be totally rid of EHI's. It's just tough for me to let go of things. I always worry that other people won't pick up the slack, so I have to do it all. But I'm really excited for the Garden Seeds program which will build stronger bonds with fewer families (quality over quantity). We have another meeting in a couple weeks, so hopefully we'll figure out some more things then.. We just have a lot to go over and talk about. In an all day meeting, we only really fully covered like 2 or 3 topics. But I'm pretty used to that from SGA executive officer meetings and the Board of Trustees meetings.
Tomorrow and Friday Jenny's out, and Friday I'm leaving a little early to drive back to Owensboro for Ashley's wedding!
Jenny, Robyn, and I drove straight to McCreary County Tuesday morning. Luckily Julia had way more help than the previous distributions, so we didn't really have to do too much work. A Jackson elderly services volunteer came to help, as did Julia's two sisters who were visiting, and a couple of older community volunteers - one nicknamed "Hot Shot". Hot Shot's wife thought I was Julia's sister and said I "favored her." We all got a laugh out of that. It was soooo hot that day, so I was glad to be in the air conditioned elementary-school-turned-community-center all day. It's nice to see the different set ups in each county. McCreary has a ton of space for programs and storage, and once they get the house built that place is going to be so busy I'm sure.
Last night I got some of my housemates to play some boardgames with me - Parcheesi, Trivial Pursuit, and some National Geographic photography game that looked like a cool Carmen San Diego type thing but we couldn't figure it out. And Julia came up to spend the night because....
We left this morning at 7:20ish (We originally were leaving at 7 am, but it got pushed back a little b/c Jenny had to run get a check from the office). Julia, Jenny, and I rode to Berea where we met up with Robyn and Anita (the manager of all the program managers). We all rode together to Natural Bridge State Park for a big Family Advocacy meeting. The Sandy Valley (east side) caseworkers and manager were there as well. It was my first time meeting all of them. I also finally met Jane, the Clay caseworker. The Sandy Valley runs things pretty differently, not just Family Advocacy but all of CAP it seems. It's like a totally different organization in some ways! Kinda confusing... so they're (or I should say "we're") in the process of revamping Family Advocacy - possibly changing the name (again), adding new programs / reintroducing old programs, etc. It's exciting, but sort of sad. I like the name Family Advocacy, and I'll be sad to be totally rid of EHI's. It's just tough for me to let go of things. I always worry that other people won't pick up the slack, so I have to do it all. But I'm really excited for the Garden Seeds program which will build stronger bonds with fewer families (quality over quantity). We have another meeting in a couple weeks, so hopefully we'll figure out some more things then.. We just have a lot to go over and talk about. In an all day meeting, we only really fully covered like 2 or 3 topics. But I'm pretty used to that from SGA executive officer meetings and the Board of Trustees meetings.
Tomorrow and Friday Jenny's out, and Friday I'm leaving a little early to drive back to Owensboro for Ashley's wedding!
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Cumberland Falls, and So Do I
Yesterday afternoon, several housemates from Rockcastle and Mt Vernon drove down to Cumberland Falls. Although it only takes parking and walking a few hundred feet to see the waterfall, we ended up hiking around the park for something like 3.5 hours. It wasn't as humid as it has been the last few days, but we still worked up quite a sweat. We ended up going off the trail and down to some rocks in the river to dip our feet. Meaghan unfortunately slipped and doused her camera in the water, while also slightly ripping her toenail.
We did a lot of balancing acts, hoisting ourselves, and scaling rocks the whole afternoon. I prided myself on my Girl Scout savvy hiking skills. (Using protuding roots to pull myself up a steep and potentially treacherous hillside? Check. Swinging down to the river by wedging my arms between two rocks? Check.) I did not have one mishap... until the last ten minutes of the hike. We had gone down a wrong (and possibly unused?) trail that parallels another trail, down by the river. This trail was higher up the side of the hill. Instead of backtracking, people decided to lower themselves down at this one point so we could get to the trail by the river that leads to the parking lot. I want to go on record that I thought the idea was sketchy in the first place. I couldn't see how the trails hooked up. That wasn't the case though... and that would have been preferable to what happened.
I happened to be at the back of the line at this point, so I waited while everyone else got down, no problems. Then Karen went down and stepped in a different spot than everyone else. Apparently she stepped on a bee hive because she got stung three times (her first stings of any kind she claims). The bees were swarming at the spot that I needed to go down and I was the only one left up top. I told Mandy I'd backtrack and meet them later, but she convinced me to go further up the path (and further up the hill) to the section of the path where these enormous tree roots cascaded down the hill to the point where everyone else was. I told her I would just take a closer look at it and then plan out my way to come down (as I did with every other physical fanagling that day). Well, when I got to the roots, my foot slipped and I ended up sliding down the slick roots on my stomach, feet first (probably the safest way). I kept thinking, as I was sliding, that I would catch myself and then I could figure out a safer way to lower myself, but that moment never came. It seemed like I slide forever, and it was pretty scary. Meaghan says she thought it looked to be 10 feet at least. I wish I'd taken a picture for proof.
I landed on my knees, shaking like crazy. My camera stayed in one pocket, but my cell phone and ID flew out of the other. Thankfully Mandy retrieved them, because my mind was going every which way and I probably wouldn't have noticed until much later. My legs, arms, and stomach were almost black with ground-in dirt. Dirt was crammed under my fingernails. Somehow my face and neck missed being scratched (Good thing my insticts said to keep my chin up!) but my legs are another story. It could have been much worse. I didn't break anything, and my scratches are shallow. I'm sore still from the bumpy ride, and bruises are starting to pop up (To my Europe friends: Remember the bruise Michelle had after running into the barrel at the winery? I have a bruise like that forming on my right leg, beside my kneecap. It's a hard lump of a bruise that is only now beginning to purple a little.), but it was probably a best case scenario. It was mostly just my pride that was injured. My legs looked like a 3rd grade boy's.
I know it's a story I'll probably laugh at later, and even today I can see some humor in it, but at the moment I was not in a great mood. Luckily we were at the end of the hike and the shower back at Rockcastle helped a lot. Enjoy some pictures!
PS. We came back to find that Carl and Grace had returned from Disaster Relief, a day early than planned! It's good to have them back in the valley.
- Special shout-out to 4-year-old Ellie for her delightful phone call this afternoon! I DO get a cell phone signal here, so feel free to call or text.
- Lost AND gained a housemate in the span of a day. Mandy dropped off Meaghan at the airport this afternoon and brought back Lauren, the newest long-term volunteer who I haven't actually met yet. She's been unpacking all day.
We did a lot of balancing acts, hoisting ourselves, and scaling rocks the whole afternoon. I prided myself on my Girl Scout savvy hiking skills. (Using protuding roots to pull myself up a steep and potentially treacherous hillside? Check. Swinging down to the river by wedging my arms between two rocks? Check.) I did not have one mishap... until the last ten minutes of the hike. We had gone down a wrong (and possibly unused?) trail that parallels another trail, down by the river. This trail was higher up the side of the hill. Instead of backtracking, people decided to lower themselves down at this one point so we could get to the trail by the river that leads to the parking lot. I want to go on record that I thought the idea was sketchy in the first place. I couldn't see how the trails hooked up. That wasn't the case though... and that would have been preferable to what happened.
I happened to be at the back of the line at this point, so I waited while everyone else got down, no problems. Then Karen went down and stepped in a different spot than everyone else. Apparently she stepped on a bee hive because she got stung three times (her first stings of any kind she claims). The bees were swarming at the spot that I needed to go down and I was the only one left up top. I told Mandy I'd backtrack and meet them later, but she convinced me to go further up the path (and further up the hill) to the section of the path where these enormous tree roots cascaded down the hill to the point where everyone else was. I told her I would just take a closer look at it and then plan out my way to come down (as I did with every other physical fanagling that day). Well, when I got to the roots, my foot slipped and I ended up sliding down the slick roots on my stomach, feet first (probably the safest way). I kept thinking, as I was sliding, that I would catch myself and then I could figure out a safer way to lower myself, but that moment never came. It seemed like I slide forever, and it was pretty scary. Meaghan says she thought it looked to be 10 feet at least. I wish I'd taken a picture for proof.
I landed on my knees, shaking like crazy. My camera stayed in one pocket, but my cell phone and ID flew out of the other. Thankfully Mandy retrieved them, because my mind was going every which way and I probably wouldn't have noticed until much later. My legs, arms, and stomach were almost black with ground-in dirt. Dirt was crammed under my fingernails. Somehow my face and neck missed being scratched (Good thing my insticts said to keep my chin up!) but my legs are another story. It could have been much worse. I didn't break anything, and my scratches are shallow. I'm sore still from the bumpy ride, and bruises are starting to pop up (To my Europe friends: Remember the bruise Michelle had after running into the barrel at the winery? I have a bruise like that forming on my right leg, beside my kneecap. It's a hard lump of a bruise that is only now beginning to purple a little.), but it was probably a best case scenario. It was mostly just my pride that was injured. My legs looked like a 3rd grade boy's.
I know it's a story I'll probably laugh at later, and even today I can see some humor in it, but at the moment I was not in a great mood. Luckily we were at the end of the hike and the shower back at Rockcastle helped a lot. Enjoy some pictures!
Me, Sarah, and Mandy
This is after I got somewhat cleaned up in the public bathroom at the park, so not quite the full effect!
PS. We came back to find that Carl and Grace had returned from Disaster Relief, a day early than planned! It's good to have them back in the valley.
- Special shout-out to 4-year-old Ellie for her delightful phone call this afternoon! I DO get a cell phone signal here, so feel free to call or text.
- Lost AND gained a housemate in the span of a day. Mandy dropped off Meaghan at the airport this afternoon and brought back Lauren, the newest long-term volunteer who I haven't actually met yet. She's been unpacking all day.
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