Donuts and Daffodils

So this week was full of ups and downs. It was my first week at Spencer, the school that I’ve been assigned to for Build. It holds grades K-8. I went over there Tuesday and Thursday this week and helped the art teacher. I was so excited to be in the art room since I love art, love kids, and kinda sorta thought about becoming an art teacher. Unfortunately, I was pretty idealistic going into the day thinking it would be so wonderful helping sweet little children create beautiful pieces of art with cute little crayons and construction paper. Haha, silly Clarissa. It’s like I forgot I was in Chicago in a neighborhood with tough, inner-city, African-American kids.

Let’s just say that Tuesday and Thursday were rather long days. Half the class period (literally) was just spent taking roll and getting the kids to somewhat behave. It’s funny because back when I was working with kids at camp or in Kansas, someone saying “shut up” was unacceptable. Now, that’s the least of my worries. There’s kids punching each other, saying horrible things to each other, standing on the tables, crazy stuff. It was alarming to say the least.

I’m trying not to let it really get to me too much, but it was intense. There were several times throughout the day when I though “I hate this” or “I really don’t like kids” which was upsetting. I’ve always liked kids and enjoyed working with them. Was I fooling myself all along, in that I really only like nice little white kids? Do I only like kids who are respectful and want to please adults? Because if that’s the case, I’m in deep doodoo for this year! Anyway, now that I’ve been away from it for a couple days I’m feeling like I’ll get used to it and become better equipped to handle it. That’s what I’m hoping, anyway. In other words, keep those prayers comin!

On the bright side, things have been going great with Grace Seeds! Linda and I met on Monday for some planning and I got started on a couple small projects this week, preparing for events throughout the year. Wednesday we made deliveries and went to a meeting of pastors in Oak Lawn, a suburb. Then this morning we started planting a peace garden on the south side of Chicago. As you may know, the south side has seen a lot of violence recently. We’re planting a nice garden with flowers and chives (for the bees!) in remembrance of former volunteers at the pantry where the garden is located, and in hopes that it will be a space of peace in the midst of a scary area.

 We worked the soil for like 2 hours and then planted hostas, irises, flower bulbs, and some other random plants. It was fun! The ground was surprisingly soft so digging was pretty easy (although I think I screwed up my shoulder somehow) and then I learned how to plant irises and bulbs! And I got to take home some daffodil bulbs so I can plant my own pretty flowers! Yay! Also, Linda brought Dunkin Donuts this morning..hence the title of this blog. Fun fact- Chicagoans LOVE Dunkin Donuts. They are all over the place! I can’t find how many of them there are, but it’s ridiculous. Not that donuts are a bad thing! ;)

The whole group of workers! Minus Linda

Me with the first hosta I planted! It was a proud moment.

Had to pull out a mini tree as I was digging up the soil.

Also, here are a few things that I have realized that I have taken for granted:

Access to a vehicle

A fully stocked grocery store within a few minutes

Water that heats up within a few seconds

Kids who are respectful (and the parents who raise them that way)

Being able to walk around outside and not worry about safety

Feeling 100% safe

The opportunity to learn in a classroom that wasn’t overcrowded

My health