Moving on, looking back

I'm not really sure if anyone still reads this, but to those of you who do, I'm very sorry for not posting. I can't believe my last post was in May! It would be very difficult to recount everything that has happened between then and now, but it is safe to say that it has been a very busy few months. Filled with work, fundraisers, socializing and some salsa dancing thrown in there.

It is 8:30 in the morning and I'm trying to take advantage of the calm around me as I know that the next week may be busier and more emotional than all of the last several months combined. This is my last week of work and I move out on Monday!

For those of you who don't know, I have a job next year with Catholic Volunteer Network as a Recruitment Associate. It is a four month position based out of DC, where I get to travel around the country to college campuses, promoting CVN programs (like Project SERVE and Bethlehem Farm) and encouraging students to take on volunteer experiences similar to my own.

I am so excited for this opportunity to continue reflecting on these incredible experiences and share them with others. But that excitement is coupled with a great deal of sadness when I think about leaving Project SERVE. My work has challenged me in ways that I did not know were possible and from that I have gained skills that will stay with me for a life time. I still have a few clients at Sarah's House that will have a new caseworker when I leave. It is difficult, knowing that I cannot see them through 'til the end, but I know that they are being left in very capable hands and will be taken care of.

The most difficult part of ending this year will undoubtably be saying goodbye to the four wonderful women who have become like sisters to me this year. Kelly, Rebecca, Faith and Bethany are some of the most beautiful people I know, inside and out. They have been of unfailing support to me this year and we have grown together in so many ways as individuals and a community. Of course we will all keep in touch and plan annual reunions, but we will never get to have this year back. So we are trying to take advantage of the time we have left.

Bethany will be moving to Tennessee and Kelly is still working on figuring things out, but Rebecca and Faith are staying in Baltimore, living together. I plan to visit with them often and I am so glad that they will be staying in the area.

So how are we taking advantage of the next week? Well... Faith and I actually share the same birthday, but because we will not be living in the house anymore when it happens, we are going to celebrate it tonight by going out to dinner with the community and then getting drinks with friends in the area at a bar in town. Tomorrow, I'm to excuse myself for the day to move some of my things out to Fairfax, VA where I'll be living with my cousin. (I am very excited about this move- to spend more time with my cousin and be closer to Aaron as well)

We typically cook/eat dinner as a community twice a week, but this week we are going to do a "best of PServe meals week" and cook some of our favorite meals and eat together each night of the week. On Tuesday night, Allison is coming over for our last ever community night and on Thursday, I'll have my last family literacy class at Sarah's House. Next weekend, we're going to celebrate Bethany's birthday and all that we've learned and accomplished this year.

Some of you may be wondering, is Caitlin coming home to New England? The answer is yes. On Monday, July 25th, I'll fly back to MA and spend the next two weeks in a combination of Chelmsford, Boston, Maine and New Hampshire. It will be a pretty crazy couple of weeks, but if you'd like to get together please let me know. Then, at the beginning of August, my parents will drive with me down to Baltimore and help me move the last of my things to VA.

Despite my sadness of leaving this year behind, I am really looking forward to seeing my family and friends and transitioning into the next great adventure of my life. I know that my job in the fall will challenge me to continue reflecting on this past year's experiences and also help me realize how such experiences have integrated themselves into my daily life and future. Because of that, I'm going to try to continue posting on this blog as a way for me to process these reflections and also make up for all that I did not post during this past year.

I'm going to sign off now. I have a busy day ahead of me, filled with packing, cleaning, attending an arts festival and partying tonight. More to come at a later date.

Peace,
Caitlin

Long Overdue

Wow, I didn't realize just how long it had been since my last post. I'm very sorry to keep you waiting. Hmm... where to start. The following comes in no particular order.

A few weekends ago, Project SERVE went on our spring retreat. A very kind Catholic Charities donor gave us his condo to use for the weekend. Right on the beach, we got to wake up to views of the ocean. It was a great balance of life giving conversations and down time which included walks on the beach and the boardwalk.

It is getting to be that time of year that it is hitting all of us that our time is winding down. We're each a bit in denial, but have to face the reality of looking for jobs. I'm having a hard time finding the time to put out applications, but I'm excited for the possibilities that next year might hold.

It has been a big month for fund raiser's and dinners. There was the Catholic Charities Annual dinner, at which Executive Director Bill McCarthy quoted a thank you letter that one of my clients wrote to the Sarah's house staff. It was a very proud moment. Then there was My Sister's Place Bridesmaids Bingo where we dawned Allison Stone's old prom and bridesmaids dresses to sell raffle tickets. We also went to dinner at Kelly's supervisor's house. All were very tasty and fun.

Probably the highlight of the last month was seeing MY PARENTS! They came down for Easter weekend and we had a wonderful time. Not only were my parents here, but Aaron's parents were visiting him in VA the week leading up to Easter and they hung out with us in Baltimore before driving back up to Maine on Saturday. The Morneau's and  my dad had hoped to go to an Orioles game, but it sadly got rained out. So the boys went to the bar and watched the Celtics while the girls went shopping. On Saturday, Mom, Dad, Aaron and I spent the day walking around Fells Point and on Sunday we went to Mass at the Bascillica and then spent the day with my Gramma and the Baummer family. It was a wonderful visit.

Another highlight was this past weekend. I had my final concert of the season with the Baltimore Choral Arts Society. We performed at Goucher College on Sunday afternoon. We sang Gweneth Walker's "Dreams and Dances", Eric Witacre's "Five Hebrew Lovesongs" and Handel's "Dixit Dominus". We all felt that the performance went well. Thank you to Aunt Mary Carol, Aunt Jean, Aaron, Faith and Rebecca who came out to support me!

That's all that comes to mind at the moment. If I think of anything else I'll be sure to post.

Happy Easter!

Work well done and a weekend away

Well, that was a good effort at blogging more often, wasn't it? I was on a roll there for a while. I'll try to kick it into gear again.

I had a major success at work last week. I was able to move one of my clients into housing! This is a feat that is typically easier said than done for our guests. Most of our clients come to us because they cannot afford market rent housing on their minimum wage pay and then they have to wait years for a public housing or section 8 voucher. However, because of her age, my elderly single client was eligible for Catholic Charities Senior Housing. Because it is HUD subsidized, she does not have to pay any rent at this time and has numerous services at her disposal. So on St. Patrick's Day, two months after she came to Sarah's House, I drove her out to her new apartment in western Maryland. She is a very kind lady and deserving of all things good. Needless to say, everyone at Sarah's House is extremely happy for her and last time I talked to her she sounded very happy herself. It makes me feel very good to know that she is safe and cared for. Please keep her and all of the guests of Sarah's House in your prayers.

In other news, we said goodbye to one of our caseworkers this week. Dione is leaving to finish her degree in Pastoral Counseling full time. We are all very happy for her but, of course, sad to see her go. She was very helpful to me in my learning process and a very calming spirit. She will be missed.

Outside of work, Aaron and I went to Philadelphia a few weekends ago. It was Aaron's spring break and so we wanted to do some traveling. Phili is only about two hours away with lots to do and there were some very friendly faces waiting for us :-) Aaron and I stayed and visited with my cousin Julie, her husband Greg and their one and a half year old adorable daughter Tessa.

I had never met Tessa and Julie and Greg had not yet met Aaron- so we all had a great time catching up and getting to know each other. While in the city, Aaron and I hit up all the important stuff:

The Liberty Bell

The first court house

The cheese steak

Benjamin Franklin Museum

The United States Mint... kind of. It was closed. Aaron was sad.

Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral

And of course... Rocky. (We also went inside the museum of art)

In addition, we got to meet up with one of Aaron's neighborhood friends to have dinner. All in all, we crammed a lot into one weekend, but still managed to make it fun and relaxing at the same time.

This coming weekend, the Project SERVErs are going on our spring retreat to Ocean City. We'll leave Thursday night and come back on Sunday. Let's hope for good weather! I'll be sure to write about it when we get back!

Love,
Caitlin

Day of Adventure

This Saturday, I woke up with a very unfamiliar dilemma... I had nothing to do! It was a beautiful day in Baltimore and I was in the mood for something new, but had no idea where to start. So I googled "fun things to do in baltimore". The first link that came up was conveniently for "Free things to do in Baltimore". I like the sound of that. The first suggestion on that list was "Go to Antique Row" So I did. 

Then I went to Lexington Market for lunch and watched funky blues band (and some crazy dancing people in the crowd)

Then Faith and Rebecca and I remembered that the Bromo Seltzer was having their monthly open house.  The tower is filled with 15 floors of artist's studios who opened their doors to let us see their art. 

Then, that night we worked the coat check for Our Daily Bread's Annual Donor Dinner.

All in all it was a very successful day. And I know there will be more to come.

It all goes back to Annie

A little while ago, the radio in my car stopped working. It is an issue that is probably fixable, we just have not gotten around to addressing it. Although the lack of music is sometimes frustrating, I have come to appreciate the silence of my commute as one (I guess two, technically) of the most reflective times of my day.

Sometimes I create my own music by singing. This is either to pass the time or because it is the closest thing to screaming (which is often what I feel like doing at the end of the day). And sometimes I just think. This evening's drive was a little bit of both.

I wish I could tell you why "Tomorrow" from Annie popped into my head tonight. I'm sure there was some thought process that led up to it, but at the moment, I couldn't tell you. For those of you who did not know me at the age of eight, those who did can attest to my obsession with the musical. I knew every word to every song and sang them night and day (just ask my sister). I had the VHS and cassette tapes of both the movie and broadway productions of the show.  For my first skating program, I wore a red dress and skated to "You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile." In fifth grade I was in a community theater production and played one of the orphans.

On a separate note, some years ago, I discerned that I wanted to be a foster parent and/or adopt, in addition to having my own biological children. This was partly inspired by the book "A Child Called It" that I read for a psychology project in high school, but outside of that, this desire of mine goes without logical explanation. I am not adopted. I do not have any friends or family members who are adopted. I have never been close to someone who is an orphan or a foster parent. So where did this come from?

As I belted out "when you're stuck in a day that's grey and lonely..." I stopped and thought to myself "Of course I want to adopt. It is because of Annie". This may seem like a trivial connection or a coincidence, but I don't think it is. Because as I continued driving, it all began to make sense- not only why I wanted to adopt, but also why I feel called to service work. Annie introduced me to the struggles of the marginalized of our society, their mistreatment, their hopes, their humanity. I saw the injustices imposed on the vulnerable (Ms. Hannigan), as well as the individual's strength to persevere (Annie) and the ability of those in a place of privilege to make a difference (Daddy Warbucks).

There were many people who were surprised (and a few that were even upset) by my choice to "abandon" my musical training and spend a year with Americorps. What I figured out today is that I am not stepping away from music at all, but moving forward on the path that it set me. Annie introduced me to social injustice and made me want to do something about it. The music inspired me to serve.

We need your help!

Congress is proposing a bill to cut all funding for programs like Americorps, Teach for America, Habitat for Humanity and City Year. These programs are indescribably beneficial for people like me who want to devote a year (or a lifetime) to service, but they are even more important to those they serve- the under privileged of our country. Without these programs, countless people will go without housing, food, education, you name it. In addition, the non-profits who work in conjunction with organizations like Americorps will likely suffer greatly as a result of the loss of funding. Please take a moment out of your day to sign the petition and call your legislator.


http://www.americorpsalums.org/?page=Act4AmeriCorps


 http://www.saveservice.org/

Thank you so much!

Caitlin

We're Famous

This week, an article was published in Baltimore's Catholic Review on our program.

http://www.catholicreview.org/subpages/storyworldnew-new.aspx?action=9538

Simplify Simplify Simplify

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, this was one of the themes of our winter retreat. We talked about ways we have begun to live more simply this year and what we can do and/or take on throughout the rest of the year to continue that journey.

I began to learn about living simply when I first traveled to West Virginia to work on home repair projects with Nazareth Farm in my freshman year of college. Over the course of the following years, I reexamined my spending habits and use of resources, from asking myself the question of: "Do I really need this item of clothing?" to, more recently, reducing my meat consumption.

As a Christian woman, I feel called to simple living for a number of reasons. First and foremost because, as human beings, we are stewards of God's creation. It is our responsibility to ensure that our earth will be able to provide for our children and our children's children. Secondly, in my studies of social justice and working with the poor, I have learned that each individual's consumption habits have a direct effect on other people, especially the world's most vulnerable populations.

So, needless to say the more informed I become about issues of social injustice, the more urgently I feel a need to change things in my day to day life that will allow me to tread a little more lightly on the planet. That being said, I have quite a ways to go and there are many challenges associated with such a life style change. An intelligent friend once reminded me, after reading a book about energy consumption around the world, that in order to not leave any ecological foot print whatsoever, you would have to actually... not exist.

But one of the readings that Allison brought along helped me to think about living simply in another way. True simplicity is internal. One can have many things but live simply, and one can have very few things and not live simply. Truly living simply is more than just material possessions, it is about possessing a simple heart. Being simple in our relationships, our interactions and how we spend our time.  In that respect, I feel that I have come a long way this year.

Any of my friends from college could tell you that I ran on automatic "go" mode, constantly feeling like I needed to be doing something and feeling guilty when I was not. Even if I was sitting still, my mind was never in one place. Therefore, I rarely felt truly present in the moment I was in.

I observed today as I came home from work that I dropped my purse, keys and coat in the corner of my room that I always do and with that action, I mentally said "goodbye" to Sarah's House and "hello" to my own house and community. I changed out of my work clothes into sweats and checked my gmail account (which is not accessible at work), and then went upstairs to unpack my lunch box and ask my roommates how their days were.

It is difficult to describe the exact sensations of this course of events only that I felt consciously aware of how much I have learned to simplify my lifestyle. I find that in group conversations I actually (believe it or not) talk less because I am more focused on what the speaker is saying than what I want to say next. Today, at work, while waiting for a client to complete a job interview, I sat in the car and literally did nothing. (I repeat that I was transporting a client, which is in my job description, so it is okay) But I was not thinking about what needed to be done at the office, or social drama (not that I have any in my life anyway) or some complex life question. I just sat. It was glorious!

What I'm learning this year, and came to realize in the last couple of days is that- in the same way that living materially simple promotes ecologically sustainability, internal simplicity creates emotional sustainability.

Winter Retreat

So, I've realized that my blogs recently have been more summaries of chunks of time than true expressions of my experiences this year. (i.e. eight photos to convey the entire month of January, what?) Therefore (don't hold me to this but) I'm going to try to start blogging more often when I am in the moment and can more adequately describe my experience.

Exhibit A: Today, we went on our winter retreat. If you recall, in October we went on our fall retreat to a state park in WV for a weekend. Our winter retreat was only a day long, but very productive and a nice get away. While we could have just sat in our living room, we decided it would be a good idea to have a change of scenery. So we traveled about a half hour outside the city to Sister Joan Marie's house. Sister Joan Marie is a member of the Benedictine order and the parish social minister for Catholic Charities of Baltimore. The order owns three houses on a culdesac in Timonium. They live in two of the houses and rent out the third for retreats- which is where we were today.

Similar to our fall retreat, we had sessions on community, service and spirituality under the themes of simplicity and listening. We reflected on the challenges and joys of our individual work places and living in community and of course discussed the necessary household items while we had everyone together.

On a side note, I cut my finger with a bread knife and came the closest I ever had to passing out. Mind you, this was a very very small cut that barely bled, but while I sat there with my head between my knees, I thought to myself- when did I become a wuss?

Moving on, I went for a run today? I know, I still can't quite believe it. And it wasn't so much running as spurts of jogging broken up by walking for a total of um.... a quarter of a mile. Several days ago, my roommate Bethany announced to the rest of us that we would all be running a 5K in the spring. So after I made several excuses, Bethany and Kelly managed to convince me to go with them after we returned from the retreat. I will certainly keep you filled in on the progress of our training. Anything will be better than me "running" the Fourth of July road race cold turkey in high school.

January Joys

And now I present photographic account of the month of January:

The PServers and I visited the Visionary Art Museum...

Aaron and I hung out with with my friend Amal who was auditioning at the University of Maryland...

Went to a family reunion at Ocean City...

And now we are very excited for the returns of...

and...

If you don't watch these shows, you should. Especially Raising Hope. 

More to come soon :-)

Love,

Caitlin

It's the holiday season, so whoop-dee-doo and dickery-dock

Hello Everyone,

I'm very sorry that it has been so long since I posted. Of course, there was a lot going on leading up to the holidays. Where to start?

We were certainly in the holiday spirit in the house. My roommates and I took full advantage of the local holiday craft fairs and were even inspired to make a few of our own crafts. Our living room had a carpet of fabric and paper clippings for the three weeks leading up to Christmas.

One weekend, Rebecca and Kelly and I went to see a community production of the Nutcracker. One of Rebecca's co-workers was playing Herr Drosselmeyer. When I was growing up in Maryland, my mom, sister and I went to see the Nutcracker every year in Ellicott City so I got to recall some fond memories as well as make new ones.

We also celebrated our first house birthday- Rebecca's. We began the evening by going to a wonderful vegetarian/vegan restaurant and then went to, what we were told, was an 80's dance party. It was really a bar that had a dance floor and played 80's music. We might have been the only one's dancing... whatever, we had fun.

Sarah's House was a very busy place at holiday time. On Saturday Dec. 11 we had an open house that gave donors the opportunity to bring by christmas gifts for the guests and learn more about Sarah's House. We served food, gave tours and Santa even came!

The next Saturday was Shop Day. This is the day that we set up all of the donated gifts by category and guests walk around with their caseworker to pick out gifts for their children. Meanwhile, the kids go to daycare and pick out gifts for their parents. It is a very special day for everyone. Aaron came to volunteer which was really great because he got to see where I work and meet my supervisor.

From Sarah's House, Aaron and I (with my bags already packed) headed off to VA. That night, we went into DC to see his teacher play in the Navy Band Christmas Concert, which was wonderful. It was a beautifully programed evening that touched on all aspects of the holiday season- most especially the need for peace in our world. They ended the night with a woman singing "My Grown Up Christmas List" and finishing with everyone joining in on "Let There be Peace on Earth".

To continue with our weekend of concerts, Aaron then took me to see the Vienna Boys Choir at George Mason as part of my Christmas gift! Also, wonderful. We had front row seats! The boys were adorable and wonderfully talented. From there, we hopped in the car again and drove seven hours through the night to arrive at his Grandparent's house near Boston at 3:00am. We slept for five hours, visited for a bit and then drove the rest of the way to my house where Aaron dropped me off and then returned to Maine to be with his family.

I got to have a whole two weeks of vacation. (Thank you Joyce) I spent lots of time with my parents and saw all my best friends my friends from UNH. My dad and I sang at Christmas Eve Mass, then on Christmas day, we all opened presents in the morning and the Morneau family joined us for dinner while Cara and Chris spent time with Chris' family. For New Years, Aaron and I hosted a party at my house with some of our UNH friends. That Sunday, Aaron and I picked up Faith in Boston and drove the seven and a half hours back down to Baltimore. It was a wonderful relaxing break filled with family and friends and I came back feeling refreshed and energized.

I am now officially a member of the Baltimore Choral Arts Society. (They are like the Tanglewood chorus of Boston.) After talking to the director at a chance meeting in the fall, I auditioned on Monday night and was accepted. Right now, we are preparing to be the chorus for a professional production of The Magic Flute that is coming to Baltimore in February. It felt really good to be singing in a structured environment again. The director is great, he knows how to get a great sound while still having fun with the group and the singers are all wonderful. I feel like I can have fun while still learning and moving forward as a musician.

And speaking of musicians... Aaron played in a master class at the Navy Band Saxophone Symposium hosted at GMU this weekend. (A master class is a time that a student will play for an accomplished teacher/performer and then the teacher/performer will give critique so that the student gets a new perspective and the audience can observe the differences, so everyone learns.) Simply amazing! Aaron sounded better than ever. To add to the excitement, Aaron played a piece that was commissioned for the performer giving the master class AND the composer was there! Both the performer and the composer came all the way from Sidney, Australia! Both were very complimentary of Aaron's performance and Aaron got to hear insight about the piece straight from the composer's mouth.

So I think that's all the big stuff. Sorry there are no pictures this time. I need to be better about taking them. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and are having a very Happy New Year! I'll write again soon.

Love,
Caitlin