I've logged a bewildering number of observations about living on such limited funds. I managed ok because I wasn't in social situations which required me to spend anything other than on food. What keeps irritating me is that I haven't been able to have cheese! I really, really like cheese and it is such a versatile food. In hind sight I wish I had just spent the money at the beginning, bought the cheddar and maybe I wouldn't be so cranky. I have missed that more than sweets or treats. When I went to buy ground beef on Monday, I wandered over to Shoppers to see if they had any specials which might fit my budget. I looked at the peanut butter, jam, cheese, even wieners, longingly. Cheese is still at least $6 a package, as it was at Frosted Foods. Slowly, very slowly down the candies, cookies and chocolate aisle. As I was leaving the store I was hit with one very odd thought that was as genuine as if I were truly impoverished: my spirits were low and I actually 'heard' my thought that "I just can't afford that."
Re-reading that last paragraph and my rant about cheese, I was struck with another realization: how often do I throw out cheese that has dried out too much for my liking, or has a bit of mold on it. I promise myself to buy smarter, smaller packages in the future or repackage it better. I've gained a new perspective on that waste and feel something close to shame for how blasé I've been about wasted groceries.
In my 'real world' thinking it seems obvious that it would make sense for friends or neighbours to buy some of those big ticket items and share them. Splitting a can of coffee, a bag of sugar, might be a pain, but it would make it possible. Group shopping is making more sense to me. I'm wondering if any of these little groups who are already working to provide emergency supplies...like the one in the Minto area, or maybe one of the Women's shelters/places might be inclined to work towards making this aspect of shopping more accessible to those on limited budgets. I picture a huge shopping day winding up at one of the community centres and repackaging foods and distributing them at shared prices.
Rob's suggestion of two people sharing an apartment sounds very logical, and I'm wondering how many of the existing housing units would be suitable for that arrangement. I would really like to see some of these rooms and apartments we're talking about here. I have a feeling that that experience would truly put this challenge into perspective. If I can find a way to respectfully see some of the accommodations, I will certainly pursue that idea.
I've had two lunches at the homes of friends, both where the conversation was frequently about the challenges of the poor, not just our Week of Poverty. These friends are all generous, aware, giving citizens and it was interesting to again explore some of the services which are already in place. I don't consider those two lunches as a departure from the challenge because I would have eaten at Knox or The Fellowship Centre otherwise and still no cost incurred.
I have a little difficulty rationalizing debiting $1 for each car ride since the rides were from people who were already going to the same place I was going. It's funny how protective I've become with my Loonies during this project. I don't WANT to pay for those rides and take it out of my 11.16!
Yesterday my challenge was that I had to make a long distance call to a close friend who is having a birthday. I phoned KMTS for information on using the few pay phones downtown. The rep didn't know if you could still use cash for long distance and suggested that phone cards may be the only way to go. I called the Shell station and asked about their phone cards. They come in denominations starting at $5 but he couldn't tell me how many minutes or to where. Short of going down and looking at the display and the cards themselves, I couldn't find anyone who could give me any information about number of minutes allowed and what zones of the country that might cover...if in fact, there's a difference. So this is a challenge which hasn't been resolved. I'll keep working on that one because now I'm curious. And my friend is not going to get that call because I'm getting stingy with my cash!
My challenge for today was to make a new friend outside of work. Since we're nearing the end of the project I'm going to bend the rules a bit and make that a retroactive challenge and say that I accomplished it yesterday. After my time at the Salvation Army I think I made at least two new friends there. That counts!
This will be my last post for the Week of Poverty Challenge. I am so appreciative of the friends, family and general public who have actually read what we've been writing about and expressed their interest. Without your participation and acknowledgement of that interest, this would have been a much more difficult project. If I were to go into a room full of people and find that no one knew about our Walk, or even cared, there wouldn't be much incentive to keep going, to play by the (very loose) rules, to make it meaningful. I think we've accomplished what we set out to do, to make the town more aware of the local poverty and the difficulties that face the poor every day. But for myself, I've accomplished a lot more than that. Personally I've been impacted in a way which I did not foresee and from which there is no going back. At the beginning of the challenge a good friend said that she predicted this would be a life-changing experience for me, as it was when I went to Israel. She was right. Now what do I, as an individual, do with this new awareness? What's the next step?
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