Giving Food . . . Giving Hearts

My office mate, Al Solis ~ who is head of food resourcing ~ just finished giving an interview to an intern. I guess she is going around interviewing everyone about their jobs here at the food bank. I found myself laughing out loud several times because Al was trying to politely tell her ~ none of us are here for the money! While it did give me a chuckle, it has made me stop and think. Al is right. Many here could be working somewhere else making far greater sums of cash, but as Al explained, no one here thinks about the money. Because of the giving hearts here ~ I find co-workers standing out at the distribution dock in freezing weather or dirt storms handing out food boxes, they stay in the freezer room all day packing our freezer/cold boxes, many stand on their feet long hours neatly organizing cans and other food in our dry boxes, and then I see our 'bean counters' and administration who refuse excessive salaries because they know every $1 really does provide 7 meals. So yes, we are giving food here at the South Plains Food Bank, but all of my co-workers are also giving hearts in their labor!

Panic

Panic, true panic, has visited me few times in my 36 years of life. But this past Sunday was one of those times. I watched my 22 month-old son deteriorate in front of my eyes. Fortunately, we were able to get him emergency medical care. We have since discovered his has diabetes. Throughout my son's short life he has had several difficult health issues for which we have received excellent medical attention. So as things were progressively getting worse Sunday and I started to panic I knew my son's pediatrician was just a phone call away. After being here a few days and things having calmed down a bit I was reflecting on that feeling of panic and fear I had Sunday. I remembered another time when I felt panic, true panic. It was on a Monday when I was having coffee and looking at my budget for the next two weeks. There was no more money (I was unemployed), I had already used all our food stamps, and we had no food. I really did not know what to do. Panic set in! I remembered seeing a poster at the Texas Health and Human Services office about 2-1-1. So I called. I called everyday hoping that I wouldn't have to get a food voucher. But no money came in. So on Thursday I went for a voucher. Everyone was so wonderful and I couldn't believe all the food. In thinking about these two most recent times when panic was an unwelcome guest, I found myself realizing that just knowing I had someone who could help me was a huge relief. So if panic is knocking on your door - just know that you are not alone and that we are here for you.

A Whole New World

So I woke today to a whole new world. . . insulin shots, glucose monitors, and learning the reality of the the words, "My son is a diabetic." It is a different world. I found myself thinking all sorts of thoughts. I mean what color is that cause? I know the red ribbon is AIDS awareness. The pink ribbon is breast cancer awareness. But what color and symbol represent diabetes? I still have no idea. I also discovered today that there is a walk every September. Again, clueless, because diabetes has not really been in my world personally. I mean sure, I know relatives who have it, but I never really thought about it much. I mean, I guess since it is not usually life threatening, like the cancer that runs rampant in my family, it has not been a focus. So not only do I find out about this walk, but that Jenifer and our G.R.U.B. kids had a team last year. Well , Jen, sign me up! In just what little I have managed to process in the past hours of this diagnosis - diet is so important. So another thought that travels through my brain. . . some of our clients are diabetic. Wow. It is so very important they have food that is right for a diabetic. It is vital that they not skip meals and snacks. My mind raced to our diabetic food boxes; thankful that we have them for a population that depends on food for medical reasons. It is indeed whole new world.

Simple Food

You know I have come to realize that I come from the country even though I grew up only three blocks South of FM 1585 and Interstate 27 right here in Lubbock! In talking to my housemate over the holidays I figured out that my family are simple people who enjoy simple food. Over the her Christmas vacation we managed to introduce her to snow ice cream, Martha Washington candy, homemade cactus jelly, and homemade pancakes (not from a box) with chocolate syrup! We have others, too, that we plan to subject her to in 2010! While I say we like simple food, we also like good food. My mother calls Burger King "The Burger King" and has never had a Taco Bell burrito! She is a great cook, like her parents, so while my family has perfected a simple fare like red beans in a crock pot my mother doesn't care for "fast food" much. She will slave over canning fresh black eyed peas, which I shell every year because I am the fastest sheller in my family, rather than purchase store cans of the little peas! She would rather shuck fresh corn and freeze it than to buy the little ears already in the frozen section of a supermarket! So while we are a simple people who enjoy simple food, there is nothing simple in the old fashioned arts of canning, shelling, and shucking!