Marysia's Reflections on the Kitchen Shift

            During the deliveries I made the previous week, I didn’t realize how much work went behind making those meals.  On Tuesday, January 20, walking into the kitchen with Kate and Jenn, I was surprised with how organized the food production was and how monotonous, but essential all the tasks were.  As I bagged over 400 pita folds, the meal from Jerusalem’s came to mind.  The garlic hummus, mouth-watering meat, crunchy vegetables and warm pita were so delicious.  I hope these meals are as appetizing as the one I had the other night.  After passing the desserts that were being separated, my stomach growled.  They looked so good.  That made me happy because if I am craving it, I am pretty sure other people are really enjoying it.  Although this work may be boring, the monotonous chopping of vegetables and trying to shove the same pita into the same bag 200 times, it does go somewhere.  It may seem like you are doing nothing with your time, but in reality you are helping the program continue.  If we would not have bagged those buns and pitas, who knows if they would have gotten everything done. 

            As I grab the next bag that will hold the next pita, my mind begins to wonder as one might expect while doing a mundane job.  I imagine the journey that this little bag of pita will go on.  Hopefully, it will be filled with fresh vegetables, hummus, and some meat.  It should give the eater a great meal that makes them feel ready for the day and full of energy to read a great book or talk to their grandchildren or children.  Maybe this pita will spark up a philosophical discussion about the Greeks or make the person want to dream about traveling to the Mediterranean and living in a white house on the beach.  

            Ok, so maybe these bagged pitas won’t bring on these conversations, but as long as they give someone the power to use their most unique part of their body, their brain, to make them feel better about life and themselves I will be satisfied.

            Everything has to be done step by step to make this organization work.  It is the combination of all the hands involved that form the meals and love that nourish the bodies of the sick.   Those peppers that were cut and pitas that were bagged will contribute to the health of Denver’s community and bring on the energy needed to live and discover the other avenues of life and their self-potential.  The mundane job I participated in will hopefully bring color and adventure to the other people’s lives that may seem mundane.  Sometimes the most monotonous activities can help others have the strength to participate in their own adventures, which is exactly what the clients of Project Angel Heart need.  I was glad I could provide them with this opportunity.