Saturday, August 15, 2009

One More Thing about Omega House

A young man entered the kitchen at the hospice today. He introduced himself . . . unlike the other three who had preceded him and headed to the fridge . . . and then made mention of the array of foodstuffs I had before me.

Knowing he was in an orientation class to become a volunteer, I asked what brought him to us. He said that back in the late 90s he had been working on a Masters in Social Work and had served as an intern there. He said then that when he got his life in gear -- ie out of school, making money, etc -- he planned on coming back as a vol.

He then said that the social work thing hadn't materialized and instead he had gotten a law degree, done some work as a prosecutor in Galveston and was now in private practice. So he was making good on a promise.

I commended him.

How many people do you know who make grandiose statements about what they will do when they get to that next place in life -- wherever that is -- and then conveniently forget they ever made such a commitment?

I'm really glad I went to Omega House today. As usual, being in a place of great loss underscores what all I have and what I gain by simply showing up.

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