A Day in the Life

A common question from the folks back home to us is "What exactly do you do at the Inn?" So I am going to summarize my (Thea) day on Thursday, Jan. 7.
7:30--went over to the Inn to get trash bags to take to the thrift store. While I was there I brought up the wash from the basement
8:30-went to Mass at the Inn. Fr. Michael preached on 1John4--if we say we love God but don't love our brothers and sisters, we are liars. I promised myself to work on that today, especially at the thrift store
9:00-helped Fred load the van with donations to the thrift store
9:15-got to the store. We were fortunate to find a parking place in front of the store. Often we have to haul the bags a block or more. We unloaded the van and brought the bags to the back of the store where Carmen could sort them. I straightened up the store, put a few new things on the racks, checked the supply of underwear and prepared to open for business.
10:00- the doors opened and the crowds rushed in. Well, not exactly crowds, but it is a small store with narrow aisles, so it fills up quickly. My first two customers are always Ms. Rose and her daughter. Today they bought 6 vintage pillbox hats for 50 cents a piece. We also had a box of Gymboree children's clothes, brand new. I decided to sell them for $2 each.
10:30--some of the Guests who had vouchers had made their way from the Inn to the store. A guest can get a voucher on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. It allows for a shirt, pants, and underwear and can be gotten once a week. Additional items like shoes, a coat or sheets can be added to the voucher. One Guest, a very petitie woman, complained loudly that we didn't have anything in her size. I had placed an extra small pair of pants on the rack that morning, and got them for her. She said they were too long. I suggested rolling them up or hemming them, but she was not happy with the idea. Many of the men had trouble getting pants in their sizes. We seem to get lots of large pants, but very few in waists 30-34, and most of our guests are thin. The men were very happy with the coats I found for them, as well as the new undershirts and socks I had for them.
11:30-a man came in with a donation. He had a truck with 10 bags of stuff and needed help carrying them in. The only other volunteer available was Bernice, who is in her 70's and had bad legs. So I left her in charge and went to help. He was parked more than a block away, and his bags were huge and heavy, filled with sheets, towels and other bedding. I had to drag the bags behind me as I couldn't lift them. After about 5 trips, the guy took pity on me and drove his truck to the front of the store and double parked while I got the last two boxes.
12:10--we got the last customer rung up, and closed the store for a brief lunch break.
12:30-0pened up again. Most of the afternoon customers were bargain shoppers rather than people with vouchers. One man came in and began putting pants and sweaters in a large box. I asked him what he was doing and he told me he was going to buy them all. After he filled the box, he brought it to the front desk and I began to add up the cost. It was $36 (I charge $1 for pants and shirts, and $2 for sweaters and sweatshirts). He searched his pockets for money, and then began to sway slightly toward the ground. I realized he was high on something and told him he needed to leave. He said, "I need to leave?" I thought he might challenge me or refuse, but he headed out the door. I then put all the clothes back on the racks and thanked God the man had been agreeable.
2--Fred came to pick me up. We grabbed the money and tidied up best as we could, and headed back to the Inn.
2:30--since the weather was a balmy 37 degrees, I decided to walk the mile to the grocery store and get a few things
3:30--returned from store and had a snack before going to the Inn the evening meal
4--Barb the coordinator assigned me to the yard, so I returned home to put on a few more layers of clothing. The sun sets around 4:30, and I knew it would cool quickly.
4:30--I did line up for the meal. This job consists of having the guests get in 3 lines. One is for seniors, one for families with children and the third is for everyone else. Each person gets a ticket as they come through the gate, and there is one color for seniors and families, and a different color for the rest. We change the colors every day. We operate on a first come, first served basis, so the first number goes into the meal first. We seat the seniors and families first, then go to the younger, single people. We have seating for 48, and a maitre d' tells me how many seats she has available, and I let the people in. The line was pretty agreeable with only a few people wanting to go in before their numbers were called. I even had an interesting conversation with a guest who had just come out of a mental institution after being involuntarily committed by the maintenance person at her senior housing.
6-the meal is officially over. People who arrive late can get some of the chicken stew in a "to go" bowl
6:05--I start cleaning up the yard and cleaning the guest bathrooms. I have to pick up trash, stack up boxes we used to distribute bread, wash the sinks and toilets, mop the floor, empty waste baskets, take trash to the dump.
6:35-once everything is clean and the food put away, we all go to the chapel for evening prayer
7 pm--home for dinner and watch a DVD