Day 2 Means Party Planning

Good Morning readers!

It's day 2 and I finally have a moment to sit down and write about where my head is at today. I was up with my hat on, on my way to Jubilee for breakfast at 8:30. The NDP hosted a pancake breakfast today so off I went. It's the second time accessing an emergency food program and now parsons are starting to wonder who I am and what my story is. Where last night Megan and I sat alone, today we were invited to sit with others, we were asked to share who we are, where we come from and what our story is. This was met with the same sharing and so many tips and advice. I will share the advice I was given later as I face challenges, what I will share is something that was said to me. A patron I was talking with shared that living in this level of poverty requires people to detach from everything. They went on to say that if you hold onto valuing things you won't survive, this often leads people to turn to substances to mask and cope. As I sat holding my cup of coffee like a small piece of gold, knowing it would be my only hot drink of the day, I understood what he was telling me on a more real, deeper level then I ever have before. Without a home, an animal or a family surviving living in poverty means letting go of the ability to place value in anything because nothing is truly yours. 

I left Jubilee without really knowing what to do with myself. I didn't want to go home, without TV or internet or any of the other luxuries I would usually use to fill my weekend (ie. trips to visit family, cooking, car rides, crafts or house projects). So I wandered around, I looked around a few different stores, quickly realizing that this did not make me feel good as all I could think about was not being able to afford anything. I found myself at HoJoes, remembering that they have a community coffee board give me a little pep in my step! So I picked a coffee off the wall, found a seat and watched the news for a while. Knowing family is too far to visit on my budget and remembering that I have now budgeted to have my cellphone for the week, I decided to make some calls. After making some calls to a few of my family members I began to my spirit lift and was ready to make my way home to blog. 

Today my challenge card is: Have a celebration. 

Struggling a bit to think outside the box on this one, its simple on the surface but there is no way I can afford food for a celebration. Check back for how I navigate this! 

Thank you to the person who bought me a coffee today, I may not be able to pay it forward in a financial way today but I am doing my best to smile and greet everyone I meet today (and always)...