6:30 a.m. – A mom wakes me up to take her medication before heading out for the day.
7:20 a.m. – Another mom wakes me up to take her medication before going to work.
8:00 a.m. – It’s breakfast time! Corps and moms are in and out of the kitchen while everyone prepares for their day in their own time. Someone makes scrambled eggs and chorizo, and the kitchen smells heavenly.
8:45 a.m. – The Corps gather in the chapel for morning prayer; I can always tell what everyone is concerned or hopeful about by their prayer intentions for the day.
10:30 a.m. – The Waste Not truck arrives at the house and we spend some time picking out groceries for community food. We end up with a good supply of Greek yogurt, some fruit and veggies, two dozen eggs, and a gallon of milk – perfect for the week!
12:00 p.m. – It’s lunchtime and any moms and Corps who are still in the house convene in the kitchen for leftovers, quesadillas, pasta, salad, and whatever else sounds good. It’s a good time to check in on each other’s days to see how everyone is doing!
3:00 p.m. – The Corps members take a quick break to pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy in the chapel.
4:30 p.m. – A mom pulls me aside to ask for a ride to the hospital – she is pretty sure she’s in labor! Because I’m on duty, another Corps member loads up the van and heads to the hospital with her.
4:45 p.m. – A mom who is moving out to a transitional housing program, comes to me ready to fill out her exit paperwork and do a final room check before taking off. Her baby is a few weeks old and looking pretty adorable in his baby overalls!
5:00 p.m. – Our intern for the semester arrives to do house coverage for a few hours this evening. We chat about our days and touch base about what will be happening this evening in the house.
6:30 p.m. – A group of volunteers brings dinner to share with the house. Moms, volunteers, our intern, and the Corps gather around the dining room table to eat homemade chicken enchiladas! After dinner, the group leads an activity for the moms about parenting.
8:00 p.m. – I get a phone call from the mom in the hospital—her baby was born just a few hours after she arrived and both are doing well! I get ready to welcome them home in a day or two.
8:45 p.m. – The Corps members pray evening prayer together. After prayer, we each share one thing that brought us joy today – one “kairos” or “God moment”. One Corps member’s moment was opening the refrigerator to find a shelf of her favorite yogurt, and another’s was being with her contact mom while she gave birth. And mine? Just another day at Maggie’s Place.
By Lucy Miller, MissionCorps Member at The Michael House
