NO SURPRISE

       Our precious can opener is still in the box, now stacked on top of a heap in the back room. What did I expect? Why did I expect? As my friend Belle would say, "Sometimes a thing just wears you right on out."
       Joey's big news today was that he's signed up for a drama class. He's nearly jumping out of his skin with excitement. Tomorrow's the big day, so by next week I would have a report on drama class, except Joey 'n me aren't working the kitchen next week. Like a well-oiled prediction, Miss Lillian's assertion that volunteers don't show up when they know she'll be there is coming full circle.
       One introduced me to the word "rock" today. I mean, I knew about it, but I never heard it used first-hand. My goofy brain conjures up the image of a stone—but One's primary definition is connected to his workaday world—a person could, for example, exchange their child for a rock—and twins might bring 4 or 5 rocks. You just never know what's going to come out of One's mouth; his intelligence and wit are probably largely wasted here, but he brings a kind of deep, abiding strength to the residents. And they need that.
       We didn't cook anything for lunch except a few deep-fried chicken wings. There were enough leftover plates to feed everyone. I had the joy of taking some Gerber meat sticks to our resident babies—and they ate them all! I wish you could have seen their mother's face when she saw the "real toddler food" plates I had made for them. …3 meals a day plus 2 snacks (toddlers need those), multiplied by 7 days a week… and the Sunday lady is there for just one meal. I can't see how our little ones get enough nutrition—maybe they don't.
       We needed 32 sack lunches, so I was busy with those right up until it was time to serve the pre-release folks. Those folks, by the way, have diminished over the past month to a mere 5 or 6—down from 25. Joey and I don't know why, but we like to think that crime is down.
       The residents' crowd was considerably larger, and everyone seemed upbeat. I didn't see a sad face in the bunch. I left right at noon, as they were just getting into their meals. When I passed through the dining room I heard, "Miss? Miss?"
       You know, you turn around like you were still "miss," the same as when you hear a kid at the mall yell "Mom?" So I turned around. She was talking to me!
       "What's your name?"
       "Joy," I said. But she didn't get it. She tried several variations of the sound, as I repeated it, until finally another resident shouted out, "JOY!" And then everybody knew…
       So the lady said, "Well, Joy, I like your attitude and your spirit."
       I like hers too :)