tick tock

I've been in SD for about six months now. I have struggled emotionally and financially for the most part in this beautiful part of the world, and I expected to, but just not quite so much as I have. I am in Aberdeen right now, in a hotel, with my Max and all our dogs. And what a royal pain it is to have to walk them ten twenty times a day! I had a great yard, a great house, in SC but I was miserable. Now I've got tons of minute responsibilities I never had to worry about before, less than half the space, and none of the yard. And I'm happy when I wake up. How is it that a simple change of scenery makes such a difference? Even in misery, and by that I mean my current miserable living conditions (not the hotel, I mean the place we're living), I'm happier on the inside than I have been in well as long as I can remember.
There's no money in my bank account and so much to do everyday in Rapid that I can't do because I took a vow of poverty for my dream job. Every day we go home to care for our doggies that have been in crates all day and stay in our neighborhood, too depressed to drive back to town for some excitement, too poor to drive anywhere else. And then: an opportunity! This weekend we're in Aberdeen on a work assignment.
I'd never been to Aberdeen, of course. I considered taking a job here instead of Rapid City but decided there was more for me in the Black Hills. Aberdeen is nice; the folks are friendly. It's a college town, too, though by no means is it like Athens, GA. I made the right decision for me, going to RC. But there's a great children's theater program here and I've made no friends or connections in the Black Hills to keep me there after my assignment is up. Except for Morgan, my boss. And to be fair, Max just got cast in a play, too. So I guess we're about to get really busy.

Youth Works helps us kick off the Day of Hope!

Mommy's Closet will represent Volunteers of America, Dakotas, this weekend at the Day of Hope, part of Hills Alive, a free summer concert this weekend. 

This year marks the 25th anniversary for this summer concert weekend. To celebrate, the festival has expanded to include a Day of Hope. Day of Hope is an invitation-only event for low-income families in the area. Everyone is welcome, but the first two hundred participants with an invitation will receive a box of groceries. 

Youth Works has come to Mommy's Closet each week this summer to help around the office. Today, we asked them to help us pack the boxes for the Day of Hope.

Youth Works Volunteers put the boxes together, expertly taped the bottoms to make sure no groceries spill out, and put one item from each group of groceries into a box. 
These girls found a pallet jack and filled six boxes at a time! Very enterprising Youth Works volunteers! 
Another group of volunteers will finish making and filling the boxes tomorrow for this weekend's concert and Day of Hope for Rapid City families.

my home is not my own

I was startled Saturday morning by a knock at my door. After our morning walk, my dogs, in my home, bother my neighbors. The police told me I have two options: shut them up or get rid of them. I HATE this place! I love my job, but this trailer smells bad from the neighbor's cats. There are about 20 cats that I've noticed, and they've been there 20 years or so, generations of them at my next door neighbor's home. I cannot help what they do in my home when they're locked in tiny boxes while I am at work. I hate this place, too. I love my job.
We went camping, the three dogs and Max. We had fun and went to Devil's Tower for fireworks. My brakes went out on the way back.
Seems my right rear brake got hung up and now I need a rotor. $292 later, I've got a safe car. But still my doggies, my beloved doggies, haunt me. In the mail was a notice from the landlord that they've got to go or shut up. Oh, and the entire letter was in caps and underlined. Classy folks at that rental agency. There are holes I can fit a cell phone through in the floor. There are no rentals that accept pets in the newspapers and I have yet to see a sign on a house around here.
I spend half my income on gas just to get to and from work from here, the only place that accepted pets when I moved to South Dakota. I came here with great dreams. I love my job, love the work that I do, but I want a place to live! How does section 8 approve a place with holes in the floor?!? And how can I complain to Section 8 when I've got nowhere else to go?
The life I was living did not make me happy. I found the courage to start a new one. I got rid of most of my pets, kept the three I couldn't live without, and now I may lose them too. Crying just makes my head hurt more. I don't think there are many opportunities in South Dakota. I love my job but it's only 8 hours of my day.