It was a day I wasn't really looking forward to. But as long as I kept busy I wouldn't dwell on it being my last day at the Community Center of St Bernard. I've become quite fond of the people there and it's something I will miss being part of.
The day got off to a pretty usual start, open up the food bay, roll the shelves out on to the floor, figure out what today's items and categories were going to be when some disturbing foreign objects started to appear in the middle of the room. A bottle of orange juice. Some napkins. A King Cake (a New Orleans tradition for the feast of the Three Kings). It finally began to dawn on me that something was up. The director finally said "you know you're not getting out of here without a little send-off".
Normally, I find these things a bit embarrassing. One has to be nice without any mental or emotional preparation. We had some new volunteers to behave in front of and try and include in all of this. But it was all very sweet. There was a gift bag with some funny gag gifts (as well as some useful ones), a framed certificate of appreciation, a card, the works. But what really meant the most was just having everyone together. A little food, a little fun and a chance to say goodbye.