Perspective

So today I volunteered at the Preble Street Soup Kitchen here in Portland. I have always felt enormous sympathy for these people that I walk past everyday and tonight I wanted to do something about it. 

Earlier this year I gave my breakfast to a troubled looking man sitting on a bench. Turns out he wasn't homeless at all and was just waiting for a ride. Not sure who that was more awkward for. Probably him. Homeboy needed a shower in a big way.

Second time around...I stopped my car in the middle of a heavy traffic area to throw a homeless man a banana just to hear him tell me, "I don't LIKE bananas!!" and throw it back in my face. 

Third time around.... I gave a woman an apple and after walking away from her I looked back and watched her throw it away. 

I've come to realize that these people do not want food. Regardless, tonight was very eye opening. My job at the soup kitchen tonight was serving dessert and counting the amount of people that came through the buffet line for the state census. There were 396 people that came through tonight. And Portland is a very tiny city. 

Things that surprised me:

1. The amount of food that soup kitchens give out. Nobody homeless in this city is hungry. Fact.

2. The number of children with black eyes and cut up little bodies. Broke my heart to see such young people with so much pain in their lives already. There needs to be a social worker at the end of that buffet line. I have never felt more helpless. 

3. How PICKY the homeless are with food. These people have nothing but don't want salad or grapes or pasta or fruit salad. They are upset with free mac and cheese and demand meat. They want their bread with butter and garlic and won't eat it plain. They want their salad without vegetables. Some just want croutons. 

While I was slopping half baked lemon bars onto peoples plates I found myself staring off into space and thinking about life (so perhaps my plate count of 396 may be inaccurate).... but I just got so sad thinking about how many people in this world are struggling.

I know we all have our own issues and I don't think any of our problems should be trivialized just because there are people out there worse off but I think those of us who have a bed to sleep in tonight and food to cook tomorrow should realize how lucky we are. 

Crazy world we live in. 

The Way Life Should Be

Let's flashback to Memorial Day weekend....

Though the weather was not ideal for beachin (blessing in disguise seeing as I am NOT beach body ready), my best friends from Camp Kieve and I all ventured out to Nantucket for a weekend full of $10 beers, peach colored pants, slow ferries, arrogant frat boys, sweaty dance floors and boat parties. Nantucket is one of those places you can easily mock for obvious reasons but aside from the typical over served "bro", it truly is a beautiful place and I was quite happy to have chosen to spend my weekend there with old friends. We were actually way more responsible than I would have imagined. Most nights we were in bed before midnight. A sure sign of the mid-twenty weirds...

Ferry ride to Nantucket, MA

Leaving Nantucket :(

Kieve.

What's funny about friends from Kieve is that no matter how much time has passed, every time I see them, it's as if nothing has changed. Nobody has a filter in what they have to say, nobody cares about walking around naked, and nobody will judge you when you wake up with bags of cookies stuck to your face. There's definitely something to be said for friends like that. 

I've noticed this in my Colorado ranch friends as well. What is it about working and living so closely with people that you literally become family?? It's something that I am so incredibly grateful for and the time I get to spend here in Portland with my ranch roomies and friends is time that I truly cherish. Special shout out to Hannah, Zach and Laura. It's so nice to have family away from home.

Anyways, this weekend was perfect. Friday afternoon was spent on Scarborough Beach and then Friday evening got together with my two favorite Hannah's at one of our go-to Portland spots - Local 188. On Saturday morning we took a ferry from Portland to Long Island for a friend's birthday and had a day full of wiffle ball, lax, lime-a-ritas, puppies and catching up with Maine friends. And today, before we allowed the "Sunday weirds" to hit us, Hannah, Zach, Laura and I all drove up the coast to Bailey Island where we went on walks, skipped stones, crushed some lobster rolls, treated ourselves to ice cream and took advantage of this beautiful state we live in.

Scarborough Beach State Park, Maine 

 

Hannah and I at Local 188

Long Island, Maine 

Bailey Island, Maine 

Life is good.