My June Bug

Well it's been a week since my last post. I don't have too much to report, but I'll try to keep this interesting anyways.



I didn't do much last Monday and Tuesday, which were my "weekend." Because we are so used to having a three or four day break here and there we don't really plan much on the weekends that we only have two days off. Wednesday was a normal working day. Everyone had visits during the day, but Lennart, Erin and I had an evening visit planned. We took three members out to a pub to watch a World Cup soccer match between Ireland and France. Even though I hate soccer it was a lot of fun! I really got into it because towards the end France cheated their way into winning the match. It was ridiculous, really. But I didn't get home til midnight, so I was super tired! The next day was not as long. Kaitlyn and I went to visit Mary and Linda, two of our members who are notorious for talking. The only reason for visiting them at the same time is because they live in the same hospital. Kaitlyn and I ended up splitting up an giving them each seperate attention, which worked out nicely.



Friday was a very long day of preparation. Our group wasn't to start until seven or eight in the evening because people were coming up from Cork and Longford to join us. It was another Big Group, which means we had a full house in Malahide, a full house in Swords, and seven pairs in a bed and breakfast as well. I wasn't as lucky as I was last time, so I got to stay here in Malahide. I ws jealous of Kaitlyn and Lisa who went to the B&B because I remember how great it was! Anyways, even though we didn't start the group until seven, we were still scheduled to start at one in the afternoon. So we all were sort of slow and lazy about getting the house ready. It was certainly not ideal for any of us. The people from Cork didn't show up until about half nine, but we started dinner a bit before. Most of the people in this house were local. I was paired with June Mills. She lives in the Cara with Michaelena and Sean. I've visited there several times but I've never really spent time with her. I was a little nervous because the times I did sit with her she seemed to be in bad form. June is in her 50s and I actually don't know her disability. I think she has cerebral palsy, though. She uses a chair, but she can walk a tiny bit, which helps a lot in getting ready in the morning and things like that. She also doesn't talk at all, with the exception of fuzzy versions of "yes" and "no". June was kind of moody the first night. She was very tired and the dinner was too late for her. We sat in the corner and she dozed off. As soon as dinner was over we went to bed. The next morning she was in a much better mood. I was starting to see the sweet side of June, and I began to really enjoy my time with her. We all went to the Pavillions for shopping after we had oud our breakfast. June brought a lot of spending money with her, so we were able to find lots of fun things. It wasn't easy to bring her into the spirit of shopping, however. We went to Penney's (different from JC Penny's) and looked all over the shop. She was unimpressed with everything. I went through a list of things she might like and then I had a lightbulb. Shoes! The shoes she was wearing were a little worn, so I asked her if she wanted to look for a new pair. Her face lit up and it was smooth sailing from there! She picked out a pair of purple runners. Little did I know that by the end of the shopping trip we would put together an entire outfit of purple! We had a quick lunch and then met up with everyone to see a film. We were going to see A Christmas Carol, but for some reason they switched it to Up. I was fine with that because I missed seeing that one while I was at a meeting for Lourdes in October. It was so cute! Definitely one of the better ones I've seen with the members. We went back home and June changed into her new purple outfit. When everyone was dressed up and ready, we left for 1014, the restaurant owned by CASA. We rarely get to eat there, so it was a special treat. The food there is amazing! I went there with my parents last month and I had a pasta dish with eggplant. I was delighted to see that it was still on the menu. We didn't eat until half nine, which was another late dinner. June fell asleep a lot during the night, but she woke up when her meal came. :) By the time we got home it was almost one in the morning! June got her second wind and wanted to stay up. When I saw her start to nod off I told her it'd be best if we went to bed. I wasn't gonna stay up all night with her sleeping in her chair!



We were the first to get up the next morning. She was tired, which is what I think caused her to be quiet and non-responsive. I put on some music in the sitting room and sat with her for a bit. Finally I stroked her hand a bit and gave her a smile and said, "Come on June, we're gonna have a lot of fun today!" She looked up at me and smiled and then grabbed my hand. It was one of my favorite moments with a member.



After breakfast and a little bit of hanging out at the house, we met up with the entire group at the Grand Hotel for Mass and lunch. It was really nice to have Mass with everyone, and I got to be a Eucharistic minister, which I haven't done in a while. It was really nice. Another small reminder of being home. After we finished our meals, everyone gradually left to go back home. I feel bad for the people from Cork because they've had some serious floods there and many of them are going home to flooded houses. Keep them in your prayers!



Last night I was going to go to The George for gay bingo with my roommates but none of us wanted to go out. We were all so wrecked after the long group! So we stayed in and watched movies. I'm not sure what we have planned for the next two days. I might go in to Dublin tonight but that has yet to be confirmed. We work on Wednesday and technically Thursday, although us Americans are staying home and cooking all day long. There are four of us in this house and we're gonna have a proper Thanksgiving meal here! Now here is the part where you should all be jealous of me. Friday is a working day for us and our job is to decorate the house for Christmas! Sometimes I laugh at myself when I think that my job is tough. :P Then we fly out to Paris on Saturday! The rest of this month is going to be so much fun!

In case I don't write before Thursday, I hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving! May God bless you with many reasons to be grateful this year.

Love,
Claire