Woo Woo Overdo
Wednesday was one of those “Let’s getter done” days but let me back up about two months. I promised a fellow veteran and friend that I’d help distribute food baskets to local veterans. I couldn’t keep that promise because I developed double vision. I wasn’t supposed to drive and couldn’t help. Even if I would have been able to get to the distribution center I’d have been more of detriment than an asset. I’d have been tripping over things and not able to load boxes of food for older into the veteran’s cars. I felt especially obligated to help this time. There are fewer workers than needed to sort and load the food than recipients.
I hardly slept the night before, concerned with the weathermen calling for poor driving conditions for our area. The snow and freezing rain was predicted to start at 7 AM, the time I needed to drive to the center. I woke at 3 AM unable to fall back to sleep. I finally ate breakfast about 5:30, then posted a few things on Facebook before I steeled myself for the drive. Just as I pulled into Mt. Pleasant the slushy, slippery snow descended.
The food trucks arrived shortly after that to unload the food pallets. We directed them where we needed the skids for easier distribution. It made better access for the workers to retrieve and load cars. Because different types of foods were delivered, it was necessary for us to calculate how much was delivered and how much each veteran would get.
Initially there were just three people working. The man in charge was often busy registering the veteran’s identification and signature. That left only two of us to collect and load the items into the veteran’s vehicles. Potatoes, milk, soda pop, miscellaneous bags of snacks, bags of mixed canned goods, boxes of produce, dry goods, a boxed cake, and frozen items al had to be gathered and toted to the waiting vehicles. It was a pleasure to do so, but also tiring. Most veterans were elderly. Some had physical problems. It was necessary that the food be carried to their vehicles. Later we had two other helpers arrive I was there from eight AM until three PM.
Wednesday evening I was the chaperone with the van route ministry for our church. Picking up kids and dropping them off after services. I was so glad to get home Wednesday evening.
Leg cramps greeted me Thursday morning. My hip sockets protested, but I still had to haul in wood for the wood burner. Waking this morning, I’m still sore, but it isn’t incapacitating.