MLK Day 2012

The school where I work has offered service opportunities on MLK Day for several years. Up until this year, I didn't participate. I stayed home in the morning and slept in and then sewed. Then I'd meet Honna for lunch and while at the mall stop at the bath gel store where there was always a sale and pick up a year's supply of raspberry vanilla. The stores would have lots of things on sale, and usually I'd get Himself a couple pair of boxer shorts and myself some knee-highs. And then I'd come home and sew. This year, however, I chose to participate. And still got to sleep in and do all of the other things!

After dozing an hour later than usual, I went off to school. We gathered at the Meeting House first, for about 40 minutes and then were sent off to our assignments (there were about a dozen options and we had to preregister). I'd been told I was going to be making dinner and filling meal trays for Aid for Friends, so I took my apron along.

There were perhaps 40 people in the school cafeteria and somebody had done some very thoughtful organizing. There were stations for snapping the ends off of fresh green beans. There were tables for writing out menu sheets and making greeting cards to accompany the meals. Some people who could be trusted with sharp implements were assigned to slicing mushrooms; others to chopping parlsey. I snapped green beans for a while and then wandered over to one of the tables. After my hand got tired of copying the menu (chicken and noodles with mushroom gravy, green beans, peach crisp), I wandered into the kitchen where I was enthusiastically greeted (apparently the apron was giving me  credibility) and put in charge of the dessert makers. I had a small tribe of middle school girls and boys and we measured ingredients, stirred liquids, and ultimately with hands made the crumbly good stuff that goes atop the peaches. I had some other folks draining canned cut-up fruit and putting it into huge pans.  Then, of course, we had the fun of spreading the crumbly and carefully getting the pans over to the oven! The kids were enthusiastic and cheerful. One fellow, about 13 years old and very tall, washed dishes for literally more than an hour and never complained or asked to be relieved. I had a ball and couldn't for the life of me figure out why I'd never come before.

I had to leave at noon (we were nearly done covering the trays), though, to meet Honna for lunch. I was bubbling to her about my morning as she patiently waited.  Got the raspberry vanilla shower gel (and some warm vanilla sugar to try, too) and learned that my store no longer carries the knee-highs.  And then came home to sew.

And eagerly look forward to next year's Day of Service. Maybe Honna will come too.