Today Elizabeth went with me to the soup kitchen. We took a huge can of peach halves, whipped cream, and cherries. It was Elizabeth's job to put the peaches in little bowls and garnish them. Today, our diners would have fruit.
Joey was so happy to meet Elizabeth, and so welcoming. He was inundated with cleaning today, beginning with a large apology for his "dirty kitchen." I don't see the dirt, but he swears it's there. Anyway, it seemed that he cleaned for most of the 2 hours we were there. Food prep for lunch had been done. The shelter residents had assorted plates made up of leftovers, chicken salad, tossed salad, and peaches. The pre-release folks had small pizzas and salad. There was chicken salad for those who don't eat pork (pepperoni). Here again, I am impressed with the respect we show others. Respect is important.
Oh! And Joey has signed up for the 3-hour GED orientation class! I am so proud of him! You know... people often say they'd like to do things, but apparently this kid is a doer. Proud, proud, proud.
Elizabeth and I made 17 sack lunches; 10 sack breakfasts; and 25 pb&j sacks for the street folks. I thought I was sacrificing my precious duties for her to have the experience but, when we finished, I couldn't imagine having done all that work by myself!
When the residents came in, Elizabeth was front and center with, "Hi, Sweety. What's your bed number? What's your name? What can I get for you?" It looked to me as if they're not accustomed to that much lovin'.
Right before we left, a lovely woman named Anna came in. SHE was the regular "Sunday Lady" before I came. Her job took her away from Sundays, but she intends to return soon. I saw the schedule today; it's on the fridge. There's a Monday Lady, a Tuesday Lady... and so forth, except for Sunday. Now Sundays too are filled. It might be nice to know that Elizabeth and Anna are available—in case I need to be off sometime.
Change? Of course. Change is inevitable.
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