Wiped out

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

I started my working day just after 8:30 when we loaded up Connie’s truck with the groceries the BOND program had stored here. My freezer and fridge were full, as well as bags stored in the shed outside. Sadly only for a day though and all are empty again!

Once we unloaded at the church my job was to peel 20 pounds of potatoes. We were missing a volunteer this year due to illness, but the three of us who were there knew our jobs well. I peel the potatoes, Marianne looks after the turkey and ham, and Chris handles the stuffing. We picked up the slack for the missing volunteer where we could – setting tables, preparing veggie and dessert trays, and organizing cranberry sauce and pickles.

During the set-up I made two trips back to the house. The first was for our small coffee pot. Starbucks usually provides coffee but this year the email got lost or ignored so we were making our own. The church has a 100-cup pot, but we wanted just a few cups to enjoy while we were prepping.

The second trip home was for some masking tape. We had rolls of red plastic to cover the tables, but there was no backing on it and it slipped like crazy on the table. We thought it would be wise to keep the covers more secure before folks started pulling plates off the table by accidentally moving the tablecloth (been there, done that – right Christy!).

We had over 70 for lunch – a much larger crowd than last year. We had lots of Dads on hand, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. We ran out of potatoes and stuffing so Jen and Connie have amended next year’s list to include 30 pounds of potatoes and 15 boxes of stuffing mix. We’ll cut down on the frozen veggies though as we had lots of peas, corn and carrots left. Everyone went home with left-overs so they will get used up.

Our lunch includes the Mums who attended BOND during the entire year, as well as their partners and any toddlers in the family. There were lots of familiar faces. One of the Dads was very familiar. The past two years he has been super helpful staying after lunch to help take down tables and sweep the floor – no wonder we remember him well. My initial thought was that I didn’t think his wife had been in the program this year – and I was right. He was there with a new wife/girlfriend this year. Both Marianne and I were trying to recall who his wife was those other years! He didn’t stay to help this year so clearly she isn’t a good influence!

I’m tired, I ache, but I feel good about the day!