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.
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