It isn’t normally this crazy they said. The girls were cleaning up supper and doing the dishes. At the shelter the women all have chores. There are all kinds of rules and standards actually. Today was my first day and all I did was observe. I like observing because no one’s expecting things from you and it gives you a chance to take some things in. I can’t figure out why I’m okay with this place. I feel comfortable there.

There was a little bit of awkwardness. Today I was the only white person upstairs. They had me observing in the temporary shelter. The building is currently full to capacity. The first time I visited there was no one in the emergency shelter because it wasn’t time for the hours. But now the many bunks were full with women of various race and ages, even ones who looked close to elderly. Upstairs there are nineteen kids living there.

They’re hoping I can do a group with the kids. I feel like kids aren’t necessarily exactly my thing but I can do it. Today there were lots of kids running around. The heat index was higher so the little ones didn’t go outside as much. I did get to help two girls with their math homework. We went in a side room and I searched for a YouTube video that could teach them about the Greatest Common Factor. I tried but needed assistance.

All of the math is done on computers now. I can’t even imagine how you learn math that way, and from it seemed at least, they hadn’t learned much. We worked for probably close to an hour and not until the mother said something about twins did I notice that their faces were basically identical. So that took up some time while things really were pretty loud and busy. I’m just glad to have gotten three hours now done.

The boys started school today was well. I left from my night duty a little earlier this morning, not long after the 6AM alarm. The nights thankfully have gotten progressively better. I have only done two but am schedule for the next three nights in a row. We think that if she continues doing well she might not need to continue the night care. The first several days were very rough with unexpected and atypical pain complications.

This is all just a little bit much, I know. Josh took the boys shopping later for food. After getting home we had a good talk. I’m a believer in talking things out, even extensively at times, but sometimes you just have to suggest that each person distill their takeaways into one basic point regarding what you are needing to prevent the outcomes and behaviors you are trying to prevent. By 9:15 things were ready again to start school.