Wednesday was my day off. This post is going to be a timed list of where I was, and what I was doing. I think it’s interesting to keep track of my minutes every now and then. This is a pretty typical Wednesday for me.
6:00 am The alarm on my phone goes off, and I pull on yesterday’s clothes. I spent the night in Frederick last night with my boyfriend SirGawain. We were up late watching the Hulu show Vikings together, and I really don’t wanna get out of bed!
6:15 I field some messages before leaving. Someone has written to me about needing size 2 diapers, and another person is asking about the Baby Day Giveaway being rescheduled.
6:30 am I kiss SirGawain goodbye and drive home to Hagerstown. I probably won’t see him again until Friday. Our kitten Rollo has been sick so I am anxious about leaving. It’s a foggy and quiet commute back to my house.
7:00 am I pull into the driveway and my husband DarkKnight is waiting with a travel cup full of hot chai. He puts his work-pack and lunch bag into the back of the car, and climbs in so I can take him to the office. He teases me because I want a new travel mug and have yet to take time to get one. I sit in the driveway for a brief period, as a friend messages me to tell me that a mutual acquaintance has died. She saw the obituary in the paper. I’m really confused and upset, so I check online. It’s a mistake - same names, but the middle name is different, and all the details are wrong. It’s not the guy I briefly dated, yay!
7:15 am After I drop off DarkKnight in Williamsport, I head to Sheetz to fill up the gas tank. It’s almost on empty from my hiking trip this weekend. After that’s done, I continue to text my friend from earlier about my plans for the day, but then I’ve got to get back on the road.
7:30 am I arrive at the new Walmart to pick up non-slip shoes for a woman starting a new job on Thursday. (I had ordered them online last night in the middle of watching Vikings.) Two workers come out and say no one told them pickups now start at 7 am and one of them has to run across the entire store to get my order. They both seem to be absolutely joyous though, and the interaction between them gives me an emotional boost.
7:45 am I pull into a parking spot and check my messages. I field a question about drop off times and another person wants to know if I help with car seats. I direct the second person to a program at the hospital. Someone who was trying to help me yesterday with a corporate hotel rate has written, and we have a short back and forth. Ultimately she couldn’t help, but I appreciate her anyway! I continue to text with my friend. I also message the woman whose shoes I just picked up, to see about meeting up to give them to her.
8:00 am I head to the bank and figure out that the drive thru opens at 9. Gah! Of course! I get $20 out of the ATM for later. After parking again, I call a local vet and ask about the cost of fixing a neighborhood female cat. My contact there is always so smiley through the phone! She promises to send me an email later today. I’m concerned that the cost may be high - I usually get help from a local rescue, so I send my friend there a quick message to see if she has any room in her schedule to help out.
8:15 am My 9:00 assistance appointment asks if we can meet at 9:30 instead. Sure. I’ve made it back to my driveway, and I get a phone call from the local rescue. They can sponsor not only the one cat, but others as well! We talk about the grant they received for a short bit, and about how I can utilize her vouchers to assist others in the community. I hang up with her and contact another rescue to schedule the spay for the original cat. They’re actually in surgery today, so I have to leave a message.
8:30 am I send a message to the woman who owns the female cat and give her an update. I am also helping with a temporary housing situation for the animal, so we discuss that a bit. The vet email has arrived, and they are expensive compared to the place I am using the voucher at.
8:45 am I go into the house and head directly to the dryer to pull out a load of clothes for the Blessing Box, and bag them up for later in the week. I see that DarkKnight took care of another load for me last night. I start another donation bag in the washer. I snag a bunch of random food items to fill the Blessing Box, and I do that. We are officially closed today (it’s my day off, remember?) but I know people will still come by here for help.
9:00 am I realize I am still wearing yesterday’s clothes. I do the walk of shame down to the basement and decide to wear pants because I’m going to be lifting a lot of things today.
9:30 am I go to my assistance appointment (thankfully it’s right around the corner) and see they have a bunch of donated baby items ready to go, some of them brand new. The clients fill my car, and offer me a working chest freezer. I can’t fit it and the baby items at the same time, so I decide to head to the storage unit first. I take a photo and post it on the Facebook page. The woman I’ve been texting with comes along with me to the storage unit - she’s the one I am helping with the cat, but the main reason I am there is that her family is about to be homeless. They’re emptying the last of their stuff into a vehicle while we get into the car. Before heading out, I message with the friend that is going to be boarding the cat and make sure he’s all set this morning. He wasn’t expecting me this early, but he’s working from home and can take the kitty in a bit.
9:45 am The client and I empty the donations into the storage unit. It’s ridiculous how much has been gifted to me for this giveaway. The generosity of my city’s residents is absolutely amazeballs. I really don’t know how I can fit more into here! When we get back into the car, I realize I forgot about the post I made about the freezer. I have 12 messages in my queue. I pause to let everyone know its been claimed, and with the first two respondents, I tell the second-in-line she’s on hold while I work with number one. Number one and I go back and forth, but she’s not able to take it immediately. I tell her I will message her in a half hour to see if she’s worked it out.
10:00 am We head over to the Travelodge to pay for a one-week reservation with donations I collected yesterday evening. It’s really great that the woman that I am helping not be homeless today, has just donated a bunch of items that will help other moms from all over the area, next week. We chat while waiting to sign paperwork, and her gratitude is apparent. She asks me many times to thank the donors. I promise. The front desk staff give us each a free bottle of water, and says they can come check into the room at 2 pm. I look at my phone again, and I have a message from SirGawain. He says he’s ordered tickets to go to the National Zoo next week with me, and put in a leave request at work for my birthday. I feel happy for many reasons right now!
10:20 am Today is the last day in their residence, so when we arrive back to the apartment, the woman’s family is still clearing out the last few items. The freezer is loaded into my car, and they all say thank you again. I also take the cat. Its name is Tasty, because apparently at one point she stole and tried to eat a Tastykake! The family is emotional about Tasty’s departure, and I promise to keep them updated.
10:45 I arrive in the North End with Tasty, where my friend is boarding her. He is happy to see her. When I leave, he sends me several messages about getting her settled. I appreciate it, and send along some comments to the family.
11:00 am I message Number One again, but they can’t make the timing work, so they have to pass on the freezer. The second person in line is happy when I contact her, and she’s close by. She says she creates ready-made meals for her daughter with autism, and the freezer will really help with storing them.
11:15 am I arrive at the freezer recipient’s house. She and another gentleman unload. He is in a hurry, and they unload the freezer and take it to their garage.
11:30 am I am back at the bank. I give the teller the $20 bill I took out earlier and exchange it for 20 $1 bills.
11:45 am I arrive back at the house and warm up leftover bbq bacon meatloaf and green beans for my boyfriend MisterMoonbeam. He’s still working from home for his company, but I haven’t seen him yet today because he’s on conference calls. He messaged me before I got home to tell me he’s on a particularly contentious one. I add the last leftover Pizza Hut breadstick from Monday’s lunch to his plate. I open his office door and set his lunch down on the desk. He’s speaking, so we can’t talk to each other.
11:50 am I heat up leftovers of the Chipotle Chicken Pasta that DarkKnight made special for me the other night. While the microwave is going, I go and switch the Blessing Box laundry to the dryer, and start washing the comforter from my camping trip. The doorbell rings as I sit down to eat, and the visitor asks about the Baby Day Giveaway. We chat briefly, and she leaves. I turn on a new Netflix show, Metal Shop Masters.
12:20 pm I drink an entire glass of pineapple juice with lunch, and decide to sit and watch a second episode of Metal Shop Masters.