Jump in. That’s the best advice I can give you if you’re thinking about doing a Volunteer Odyssey week. Actually, that’s the best advice I can give you about life, too. It shouldn’t be hard, should it? There are people who need help. We have the ability to give it
"Put a pot of coffee and a pot of soup on the stove, open the door, and God will take care of the rest." That Dorothy Day quote is the motto of Sister Maureen, the only employee of the Dorothy Day House of Hospitality. The House provides temporary
I want to be six years old. I think it was the Once Upon a Time House that did it. Or Storybook Corner, which has it’s own Little Free Library and giant throne for storytime. It might have been when I heard the words “Snow Queen”. As in, “The Snow
It wasn't as cold as it had been the preceding nights, but it was still wet and dreary and I was fighting a cold, so I took a long hot shower before I left to spend my evening with the guests of Room in the Inn. It’s one of life
The demonstration kitchen at the CHC Wellness Center reminds me of the set of a cooking show. There’s lots of gleaming stainless steel and a seemingly endless supply of prep bowls. My first task is grating reduced fat cheddar cheese, brick after brick. Nutrition staff Carolyn Nichols and Jimmy Hoxie
Serving lunch at Dorothy's Place Mr. Dean thinks I have a lovely singing voice. I think he’s being generous, because it’s hard to sing when you don’t know the song, and I've never heard “The Sweetheart of Sigma Chi” before. It’s sing along hour at Dorothy’s Place, and “The Sweetheart”
3-year-old Paris does not know who Ernie is. I think this means I'm old. Three-year-olds do not ever sit still. They can be sitting, but they are not still. They just don’t ever stop moving. It’s adorable. I spent my first Volunteer Odyssey day with five little wiggly,
Sorting chicken fingers My mom used to pass out sandwiches from the back out our minivan in the parking lot of the grocery store. I've donated canned goods to food drives before. I know that, according to polls, the Mid-south area is the hungriest in the nation. That
"What do you do?” I hate that question. I’ve never liked my answer. I always want to add a disclaimer. “I’m a paralegal. But I also write a TV blog! And I also bake cakes! And I’m also studying to be a clown!” I wasn’t studying to be a clown, although