A week or so before mother passed I was talking with my friend Nancy (knitting oracle and fellow crusader for world peace) about finding something to do with my spare time. At the time of the conversation I was thinking more in terms of when mother got settled in St. Anne, but life has it's own ideas and as things turned out I'll have even more time than previously thought and the need for something to get myself out of the house has shifted as well. In the 7 stages of grief I've got a parking place with my name on it squarely in front of number 4: depression. I'm not freaking out here, I know it's normal and I'll come out the other side just fine, but I also know that I need to seek the healing or I'll easily become a recluse in this comfy, safe house. A place to volunteer would fill the bill. Nancy suggested we might volunteer together and what about Just Goods. Well, what about Just Goods?
Just Goods is a fair trade store here in Rockford located on 7th Street. It's in a neighborhood that is going through some changes for the better with great old architecture and a mixture of residents. The store was established and is currently under the umbrella of the Rockford Urban Ministries and is staffed by volunteers. It's very similar to Ten Thousand Villages, and in fact gets a lot of it's stock from them. The store also has a community room that is used for meetings, concerts, etc. At first Nancy felt that it was too soon after my loss to make any big decisions, but in the end made us an appointment for an interview Wednesday afternoon.
At this point, in order for you to better understand my reaction, I must make it clear that I have always been the square peg in a sea of round holes. We are the crazy hippie couple in our neighborhood (minus the pot smoking and general poor hygiene) with the labyrinth mowed into the field and the veggie garden. I would LOVE to be able to put solar panels on the roof, dig our own well and live as much off the grid as is possible. I try to shop locally, in as many privately owned (not big box) stores as possible, and in general try to live as simply and kindly as possible. This might not seem all that odd to you, but I live in the conservative Midwest and trust me, the general sentiment toward tolerance and peace is not shared by the masses here. SO.........
.......I fell in love at Just Goods. These are my people. They sponsor pray-for-peace meetings every Wednesday evening. They have A FREAKING WIND TURBINE ON THE ROOF. A wind turbine, for heavens sake. Be still my heart. During our meeting with Dori she went over some of the needs the shop has for volunteers and it was all I could do not to wrap my arms around her knees and beg her to let me do EVERYTHING. In the end I managed to keep some perspective and Nancy and I will be helping out in the shop every Tuesday from 10-2. They are closed Mondays so Tuesday is a busy day for them in general, but they also get new shipments on Tuesdays (oh, oh, oh,....pick me to help, pick me....). I am also attending a meeting on Monday morning with their computer guy to see if there is a way I can help out on the techno end of things. This.is.awesome!
Ok, I know this isn't the answer to all life's woes, but I do think it could be a really good thing for me and perhaps I'll pull out of depression's parking lot a little sooner than if I sat here and surfed QVC (oh, QVC, you evil thing, you) all day. Right? Heck, yeah!
Update on yesterdays post: Samten is doing much better. He's still shaking his head a little, but overall there is BIG improvement. I contacted the owner of our favorite little pet supply store in Madison (Nutzy Mutz and Crazy Catz) and she has an all natural flea and tick product that I'll be going up to get some time next week. Live and learn.
Wow!!! I'm putting this on my list to visit soon. Sounds fantastic.
Posted by: Madame Purl | May 02, 2009 at 10:47 AM
Want company on your trip to Mad town? I'm not available on Tuesday - but you aren't either so it seems!!!Talk to you later.
Posted by: Trina | May 02, 2009 at 07:46 PM