an "average" (ha!) day of Life in the gainesville catholic worker house...

Wait, you're not living with Megan anymore?! What happened? Where are you living?

So, what are you doing with your life now that you're done with college? You're working two part time jobs? Oh. So what do you do with all your free time?

Wait. Let me get this straight. You are living in the Gainesville Catholic Worker House? I thought you didn't like religious stuff anymore. Have you joined a cult or something?

Oh. So you have homeless people in your house everyday? That's... uh... cool. I guess.


I've heard all of these confused questions and seen (or imagined - because I'm paranoid about being misunderstood) lots of raised eyebrows over the last month as I tell people I've moved into the Gainesville Catholic Worker House. And if you are one of those confused people, I don't blame you. I never really know exactly how to explain (1) what this house is or (2) why I moved in here. The name is a little bit ambiguous if you know nothing about its history. At first glance, it looks uber-religious and pretty uninteresting. But while many of the people who live here, volunteer here, and visit here are unashamedly religious and/or Catholic, they remind me of no religious people I have ever before met. They are the craziest, coolest, and most confusing Catholics you'll ever meet - at least in Gainesville, anyways. They do religion in a really new - or as they like to say, a really old - way. But enough of that. We can talk about that later, if you wish. But that's a whole different blog entry...

What I want to do tonight is give you a glimpse of what an "average" day looks like for me while living at the GCW house. But I have a problem. What I'm attempting to do is impossible, because an "average" day does not really exist here. Each new day - at least from my experience so far - differs greatly from the one that came before it. I feel like I meet someone new every day. "Boring," "uneventful," and "predictable" rarely - if ever - describe life here.

So I've decided to just tell you about my day today.
That seems simple enough.

But I want to tell you something before I begin. As I tell you about my day, I will introduce you to several people whom you have not met before, but I will not mention their names. Many reasons exist for this anonymity, but my favorite reason is that anonymity places everyone on an equal playing field. Anonymity erases all prejudices and predispositions. Some of the people I will mention are college students; some are college graduates; some are homeless people; some have jobs, homes, and families; some do not. But none of that matters, because I call all of them friends and family. None of that matters, because I doubt you'll be able to differentiate between those who are homeless and those who are not. This is why I'm not afraid to live here, paranoid to live here, nor "weirded out" to live here. This is why I don't feel the need to lock away my belongings or even to lock my door. This is why I both want and need to live here. When I think of "homeless people," I don't think of "homeless people." I think of "homeless people." They are just ordinary people. Like you. Like me. Don't quite believe me? Read on and judge for yourself . . .

Every day at the GCW - just like every day anywhere else - has its ups and its downs. Life here is not perfect. The people here are not perfect. Some parts of the house need work. Some parts of people need work. But I think that's fabulous, because I'm not perfect either. :-) So I fit right in . . .

But today had more ups than it had downs, so I want to share with you some of today's humorous, warm, and eye-opening moments as they come to mind:


-Tonight I watched a 66 year old woman proudly and perfectly do the splits in our kitchen - and not once, but twice! My eyes almost popped out of my head with disbelief and amazement. Now I finally understand what it means to "see" without "believing."

-This morning two gorgeous hippy guys who've been (literally) living in the Ocala woods came over and helped us prepare food in exchange for a meal; when they left, each guy gave me a huge, warm hug. Their bear hugs made me feel safe, beautiful, and appreciated. :-)

-Tonight a friend of mine walked in my newly-decorated bedroom and gave me the most desirable compliment I can imagine: He said, "Wow, I feel like India Arie would love this room!"

-This evening, my coolest (and only) Egyptian friend met my housemate and me in our kitchen; he gave us huge hugs and loudly exclaimed, "My man, my lady, I got the job! I got the job! Can you believe it? I got the job! I don't even know what to say! Oh fuck! Thank God! I got the job!" And my heart still celebrates with him now, at 3 AM. :-)

-After dinner tonight I sat on the front steps and enjoyed the cool evening breeze while chatting with a new lady friend. As I did her hair, this woman began to tell me a little about her life - about her family, about her past and current hair stylists, about her bus drivers, about her weekend job at a nursing home. As I listened to this woman, her obvious compassion for people (despite being hurt by many people) began to challenge my own perspectives. When she told me about the bus driver she shares oranges with every night, I thought, "How personal and considerate." But when she declared (speaking about her nursing home patients), "I don't believe in retarded people," - I thought, "Wow. How revolutionary! How true. Why don't more people think and act this way? Why don't I think and act this way?" And so this "ordinary" woman unknowingly spoke Truth and Love to me tonight.

-Tonight, when I was walking from the shower to my bedroom, one of my newest big brothers smiled and said, "Kim, your hair smells nice." I just smiled back and said, "Thank you." Such a small compliment, but it still brings a huge smile to my face.

-Tonight I taught two guy friends - one younger, one older - how to bake sugar cookies from scratch. You learn baking just like you learn everything else in life: Trial and Error, my friends. Trial and Error. Then we ate both our mistakes and our successes. And both were delicious.

-In the quiet, peaceful hours of tonight, I rested on my fun futon couch next to a friend. Suddenly he said,
"Do you hear that? That would drive me crazy!"
"Do I hear what?"
"That. Those chimes."
Then I heard it. The tinkling of chimes blowing softly in the wind.
I whispered,
"Mmm... I do hear it now. And I kind of like it. It's pretty."
Then he said,
"Yeah. I guess I kind of like it, too."

And I still hear the chimes now as this entry slowly draws to a close. And I still like them. All the nightclubs let out about an hour ago, so everything is finally still, peaceful, and quiet here on NW 2nd Avenue - Except for the chimes, the soft rustling of wind through tree leaves, the gentle rain that began a moment ago, an occasional car or two, and the late-night/early-morning biker whizzing past my open window. All is dark, cool, and sweet. Like fresh spring air and a good night's sleep.

All of this - this is Love.
How can I not believe in and share Love when she gives herself to me anew everyday?

Faith
Hope
and
Love.

But the greatest of these is Love.