First Day on the Job

Today was two things: long and awesome! So Sunday night, Steve's (the farm manager) wife was having her birthday dinner at her parents house. Steve and Mandy (his wife) are literally the most chill, sweet, hospitable people... and this is my analysis after two days of knowing them haha. But as my dad can attest, I get vibes from people (that are usually pretty discerning) and I can pretty much sense right away how I will cliche with them. So anyways, Sunday night Many and Steve let me come to family/ birthday dinner. I got to meet Mandy's mom, dad, and sister- all lovely people. And their two sons: Eden (4) and Asher (2)- such adorable kids! As I mentioned in my last post, a thunderstorm was predicted and I was to have none of that in a cabin in the woods for my first night. Although I would have stuck it out and been all tough, Mandy and Steve said I could stay at their house... it took me about half a second to respond YES! And such a blessing because the weather was a little nasty and the camp is pretty empty right now... it just would have been a rough first night but instead was family filled and very comfortable. So this morning (which feels like days ago) I woke at 6:45 and headed to the cabin. Fixing some coffee, a must and headed to the farm. I was ready to go: camo VT base ball cap, t-shirt, old jeans, and brown muck boots. So legit. I harvested collard greens, iceberg lettuce heads and carrots. Steve harvested tomatoes, squash, zucchini, and cucumbers. Then at noon, we headed into the city of Richmond with our produce. We met Dominick in the city, who is the director and manages the city programs- he's really awesome. Long story short: I got to see the places where I will bring fresh produce to every Monday afternoon, got to meet lots of people (the heads of food programs for the programs we partner with as well as other Shalom Farm interns), and then we headed back to the office. We had a yummy dinner from The Mill delivered and we proceeded to have a three hour meeting. We did introductions, scheduling, vision casting, logistics, and question time. It was long but really helpful. It helped me understand the complexity and beauty of all the entities of Shalom Farms and their goals and realities. It allowed me to feel connected to the city interns and helped me get super excited for the rest of the summer. So today was long but awesome! Well it is 10:36 now and I literally can't keep my eyes open because it is an hour and 45 minutes past my new bedtime haha. So 2 things: 1) thank you so much for all the prayers; I got some voicemails, emails, and text messages (sorry I have not had time to respond!!) and 2) night night!
xoxo Kels in a Cabin (well not yet.. kels in a house for now BUT cabin soon haha)