BOYS, BASKETBALL, BABIES, & A BULLET

       Mr. A. was busy with dinner prep when I arrived. Doug didn't come in for another hour, so Mr. A. and I made PBJs (enough to use 4 loaves of bread). Then I cut up a pile of donated bananas to add to the #10 can of fruit. When Doug came, he made a big pot of his famous broccoli soup, and we put the chicken salad on the side. Meanwhile, BOB showed up, and our kitchen was bulging with workers. Helpful Guy was NOT there, and Mr. A.'s reason was a wacky one, but I will accept ANY reason for that man to not be there. Mr. A. set his new bear where he could see it all morning, having no fear that it would walk away.
       Those boys were so busy with tonight's chicken and their personal versions of this week's basketball games, that I found myself filling the ice bin, making the coffee, and filling all the plates. I didn't mind, but it was unusual.
       Our new mama came to the dining room mid-morning, and I gave her a musical lamb for the new baby. She is all smiles this week, and I assume postpartum suits her much better than being 9 months pregnant! We still have a 2-month-old with young mother, but I've never seen them. The 12-year-old came to lunch with her mother, and she was pleased with her goodies. It's nice to see her light up each and every week as if her gift is a first and only.
       The pre-release were in high spirits, and except for one (Doug says he's a very bad egg), I enjoyed their company. They ate well too. You'd never know, to watch them, that one of them jumped ship last Wednesday and was found 3 hours later with a bullet in his head. Dead.
       Doug's vacation starts today, so I won't see him again for a couple of weeks. Mr. A., Dean, and BOB will fill in, and probably Helpful… But next week is EASTER, and I'm ready with 4 dozen eggs to color for the occasion. This year, I will NOT allow the pre-release to fill their pockets with colored eggs! I will dole them out, one per diner. Too, I've amassed a large collection of stuffed rabbits, and anyone who wants to adopt one will have that opportunity. Big, burly men can be the softest folks in the group, I've noticed. Today, I gave the 12-year-old a lanyard to put her keys on. It was a freebie from a conference I attended. I had one other lanyard, and one of our men noticed the child's. "Do you have any more of those?" he asked. So I gave him the other one, and was amazed to see how quickly he attached his keys and stuff to his new lanyard. He strutted around the dining room, flashing it, for some time. Sadly, I hadn't any others, and there was demand for more.
       So this was such a fine day at the shelter, and I give Helpful most of the credit for that!
       Get your bunny on; we're plowing ahead toward Easter—my 5th anniversary at a place that feeds the morally impoverished, the physically and mentally poor, and me.