***Song title (in blog title) taken from the song "The Power of Two" by the Indigo Girls.
*Thursday, Feb. 2nd, 2012: I love being there for people. I love being the one people rant to, complain to, share good news with, share any news with and this job at Miriam's has me being that for people. Sometimes I need to provide the nuts and bolts kind of services like a birth certificate or a DMV voucher or something, but a majority of the time I get to be a listener to our guest and that's my favorite part. I am grateful for listening. I am grateful for the opportunity to be that for my guests.
*Friday, Feb. 3rd, 2012: Had a roommate date with Britt tonight and was very thankful for that time to just relax and unwind after work. It was good to just walk around, enjoy $6 worth of frozen yogurt for each of us and just relax. We got to talk about everything under the sun and I am grateful for her friendship and just taking it easy tonight.
*Saturday, Feb. 4th, 2012: Today my community hung out with a Rabbi and got to attend a Bat-Mitzvah and prayer service! It was incredible. If I couldn't be Roman Catholic, I would easily be Jewish because the sense of love, community and tradition is incredible. Set aside my constant "Fiddler on the Roof" references, eating lunch and chatting with Rabbi George was wonderful and probably in my top five moments in DC thus far. I really enjoyed learning more about Judaism and I sat next to the Rabbi's wife at the three-hour-long service and she kept talking to me. It was wonderful because she kept explaining to me the points of the service and what we were singing and also rubbed me on the back when I started to cry during the Bat-Mitzvah. She whispered to me, "you're so sentimental and that's wonderful." I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the synagogue today and am grateful for that exposure and experience.
*Sunday, Feb. 5th, 2012: SUPER BOWL! I am thankful for the Giants and (ugh) the Patriots...because they brought Britt, Andy, Emily, Kathleen, Therese and I together to watch the BIG GAME at a bar and it was really fun. It was fun to hang out with them and to actually have a true die hard Giants fan to watch it with!
*Monday, Feb. 6th, 2012: I am grateful for realities reminding me that life isn't perfect and people don't always know how to help themselves. The guest I've been working with who is illiterate and has major barriers set up for himself came to me today and asked about the balance of his food stamps. Turns out, he has already spent all $200 of his food stamps for the month of February. I can lead a horse to water but I can't make him drink...I can set him up to succeed but at the end of the day, it is within his power to succeed. So now I am working with him on a budget plan for the month of March and hopefully he won't blow through his food stamps as quickly! Today, I am thankful for this reality check.
*Tuesday, Feb. 7th, 2012: I am thankful for the staff at Miriam's Kitchen and their sense of humor. The Annual Miri Awards were today and each staff person was awarded a silly award for their efforts as a staff person. I won the "New Girl" award for obvious reasons but the overall sense of love and friendship could be felt in the room and I am so grateful that God plopped me here. These people are incredible.
*Wednesday, Feb. 8th, 2012: Down time with my roommates and creating a kick butt gift for someone. So tonight Colleen and I spent around three hours compiling an amazing set of songs for a gift for someone. It was hilarious and a lot of fun going through ALL of my music, yes, that's 3,650 songs, and deciding which songs would be good for this CD. I am grateful for tonight and the silliness that resulted from hours of listening to all kinds of music.
*Thursday, Feb. 9th, 2012: As I sit here, in my office, waiting for the next bus to come...in 13 minutes, by the way, I can't help but marvel at the fact that I find a gratitude journal kinda silly now. I have so many things to be grateful for and LOVE my new job so much that the main purpose of my gratitude journal is kinda defeated now. I am grateful for a lot so this journal starts to become kind of repetitive. BUT today I am grateful for my gained knowledge. In just four short weeks I have learned so much at Miriam's Kitchen; not only about homelessness and my staff, but about myself as well. I belong here and it feels so good to finally be where I belong. I am grateful for that sense of belonging today.
***Side note: Because my days are better and just more life giving than they were in the past, this is going to be my last "Gratitude Journal" post. I am going to start posting stories, or really important revelations instead because that way, I can dive deeper into one important thing in my life instead of ten little things that I brush over quickly in these posts.
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