My First Weekend

I had managed to make it through the week, but I was unsure how to navigate the weekend.  That Saturday morning, I made my way to my storage unit to put the last of my things that were cluttering my car.  My storage was locked by the owners and searched and searched for the key they had given me.  Racking my brain to remember the last time I had it, I realized that on Wednesday morning, I tried to turn it in before work, but realized that they didn't open until 9am and I needed to be on the highway to get the work by 9am.  So I tossed the keys in my back and got on the road.  That was the last time I saw the keys.  I searched and searched my bag, car, clothes, everything, but didn't have those keys.

Where in the world could they be?  I guessed they would be in my locker at the community college because that was the only other place that housed my other belongings.  I searched and searched and couldn't find them, so I had to drive around with all of this stuff still in my car--an ironing board, a camping cot that I slept on in my apartment because I put my bed in storage, and a bunch of clothes, shoes and non-perishable food.  My small compact car was crowded and I needed to take the ironing board out of my car at night to sleep.  So after searching and searching with no luck, I decided to head to the college to take a shower, but realized that the locker room closed at 11.  It was almost 11.  I realized I wouldn't make it so I went to my office at the nonprofit that I work for (for free) and took a wash up in the bathroom.

I spent most of my day in that office and at night headed back to the hotel parking lot.  It wasn't a bad set-up, however, I needed to be at church at 9:30am.  Hmmm, the locker room is closed on Sundays.  The only choice I had was to take a wash up in the bathroom at the hotel and take my clothes to church to get dressed.   I was a little embarrassed going into church in my sweats, carrying an iron and a hand full of clothes, but I had no other choice.  I headed to the basement to the office, ironed, got dressed and by 9:30 was at my post of service.  That night, I headed back to the hotel to sleep.

I made it through my first weekend as a homeless person.