WEDNESDAY: COUNTESS

Hello, my name is Countess, and Wednesday of our Spring Break trip was one of my favorite days of the trip! My group, the Awful Waffles, and the Banana Bandits were assigned to do meals on wheels at the North Side Senior Center. I had no idea what exactly we would be doing as volunteers, but as soon as we got there, the advisor of the center just kind of threw us in the chaos! As soon as we went downstairs to help fill the bags woth meals, it was like a mad house that was very well organized. Everybody was moving very quickly in their different directions. Each of my group members just kind of found a table to help with, and joined into the madness!
After all the meals were packed into the car, we were split up and I ended up delivering meals with Donna and Mr. Moose. They were two of the most interesting people I had ever met! They were so entertaining, I could barely catch my breath the entire time I was with them because I was laughing so hard at their humor towards one another! Another reason I could not catch my breath is because when I was not laughing, I was running to different houses delivering the meals. There I was, running from door to door, with Donna right along with me (although I was trying to keep up with her!). The entire time we were either running or rushing from door to door, only because we had an additional route that someone else had left that morning.

What truly amazed me about Mr. Moose and Donna was how well they worked together. They have been doing meals on wheels together for fifteen years, everyday, five days a week. They had a good, friendly connection with every person they delivered a meal to, and even if the person was not there, they knew where they possibly could have been, whether it was in the hospital, or if the resident was usually not at home during that time. I thought it was really admirable how dedicated they were to helping these elderly people and how much they enjoyed their jobs. They were very open and receptive of my help (unlike some of the other meals on wheels deliverers). I truly had a good time doing meals on wheels with Donna and Mr. Moose.

Another interesting part of the day was going to assisted living centers, and participating in an annual update that the center does on the seniors they deliver meals to. Melissa, Leslie, and I went with two coordinators of the center and read a statement that gave the seniors an update of some of the benefits that would be coming into play that they could take advantage of. Working with the North Side Senior Center was definitely a learning experience because I participated in things I had never seen or witnessed before. Wednesday was one of my most memorable days from Alternative Spring Break.