This week went by quick. Not as quick as we all wanted it to, but it went by. There was a continuous feeling of exhaustion that pushed us all to keep going--keeping staying awake until the day was done, and we could go home and sleep and eat.
On Tuesday we had a visitor from the Department of Health. She came really early in the day for the lunch service, so I decided to let her feel a little more welcome than to just sit in the kitchen awkwardly for three hours, and had her make paper mache with the kids. We passed that inspection with flying colors. Joyce was a cool inspector anyway.
On Wednesday, we went to the Astoria pool instead of Camp Deerpark. We brought eight kids, a pile-up of volunteers, and went to the park nearby while most of the kids swam. It was a good time. I didn't get in the pool, but enjoyed the park with the sprinkler that was close to where we sat our things down. Besides Dequisha getting hives from the infamous peaches that come in the free school lunches, it was an uneventful, fun time, ending at the Lemon Ice King, for Italian Ice. After work, I went with Vanessa to get her ear pierced--she got a Rook. It looked really painful.. The piercist had to bend the needle because her ear was so small, and when he pushed the bent part of the needle through, she grabbed my hand. Ouch!
Friday was more of less the worse day of the week. The kids walked to P.S. 20 for a hot lunch, and played at Bowne park. I stayed back at the church because there were parents that always come early, and it's good for someone to be there when we are doing the program. I cleaned up the rooms after crafts and dodgeball, and everyone started coming back, and soon everyone was back, until the doorbell rang, and Vanessa went to see who it was--Gregory, one of the kids in the program. We were all in a bit of a state of shock when he said he was left at the park and walked home by himself. After that came the heavy heavy discussion between leadership about how to tell his dad--the only dad that had been riding us the entire time, and seemed to be wanting more out of what we were doing. When Dan did tell his dad, we knew that Gregory wasn't coming back. The whole issue is really full of tension, so I'm just going to leave it at that.
The rest of the day was fine, but after that stress load we were all frustrated--with the program, and with each other when we left.
The work that we do in this program has two sections: the work that you do, and the work that you are. The work we do is the preparation, the crafts, the food, the clean-up--things we see and do, and the work we are is the attitude which we come in the door with, and the relationships we build with the kids. I think both at equally important.
Friday evening, I was blessed with a sit-down dinner with someone who wasn't affiliated with my work, and I could just talk about it and not worry about offending anyone. We went to the Happy Buddha, and ate vegan entrees and desserts. Judy got the chocolate cake, the soy ice cream, and a smoothie to go for us to share after the wonderful dinner. We took the bus to a Nail place in Bayside, and she bought me a manicure-pedicure, which was completely wonderful and awesome. And so relaxing. Now, my nails are teal, and my toes are neon yellow.
On Saturday, I went to the food pantry for the last time. I hadn't had a chance to go since before the program started, and it was fun, and fine, and I prayed for one of the ladies before I left. Sylvia and her friend Charla came into town--she called me in the afternoon and asked me how I was and what I was doing for the weekend, and at first I said I was fine, but then I said, "Actually, I'm in a foul mood because I miss Zach, and I'm watching Sleepless in Seattle, and I'd love it if you came and visited me," and she did! They came Saturday night, spent the night, set off the alarm while I was in the shower, and scared the crap out of the neighbors. We got a great laugh out of that one. They came to church with me in the morning. I went to the Perri's for dinner Saturday night, and Hannah made a Tofu "Cheese"cake, with chocolate, rum, and cinnamin. It was good.
On Sunday, I shared about my time in New York and what I had learned--what challenged me, and also shared a song. I was going to play one of my newer ones that I had written while I was in New York, but during worship, God nudged me in a different direction, and I played a song Marie and I wrote together--"true love", and said for people to listen to it, as God's love. That went really well. Then there were all these goodbyes. Goodbye is always hard, especially when I don't know when I'm coming back. I had this idea to work at Camp Deerpark, but in all honesty, I don't know where God is leading me, and what kind of a job I'll have. And I very well might spend next summer in Ohio, with people that I love there. Though saying goodbye was happening, I also had some interesting discussions with people. I went into the bathroom, and a woman that I had spoken with the first Sunday I was there, about being a vegan, said, "I've met some more Christian vegans." and then we discussed that for a little while. It made me giggle--that we were having the discussion in the bathroom.
I prepacked all my things, to see if they would fit, and then I sent my guitar with Sylvia because I knew that I didn't want to have to pay extra to take another thing under the Greyhound bus when I would have to take it, so I sent it with her, and I'll see her in September or October.
We went to Manhattan Sunday evening. The weather was perfect. We walked from Penn Station to this wonderful elevated walkway that actually had field grass and wildflowers on the edges--it was like a field in the middle of a city. So bizarre, but so wonderful at the same time. We went to Cocoa V, and they had artisan chocolates like Stella Leona's, but vegan, and I got a bunch that we tried, with great interest, Starbucks later. We then walked to the Crepe place, called Motek, that had 8 cent crepes, because it was their opening night, but Hannah and Christa got in line too late. The plus was, that across the street, there was a Vegan bakery and I went in, bought some vegan lasagna, and came out and when we as a group finally sat down, at Starbucks, add some dollar pizza, dollar falafel, some dolma, and voila! we had a great time! I had a soy chai tea latte. mmmmmmm. Then we took the subway home, the bus from there, and went to sleep at midnight. But it was perfect.
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