Amber Stephens, Meals on Wheels:

Going into my third week with Meals on Wheels I was feeling extremely excited since Sarah and I were starting to feel comfortable with our route, as well as get to know the people that we delivered to. However, Monday morning our supervisor decided to switch us to a different route for the day. I suddenly went from feeling extremely excited to extremely anxious about the delivery. When we reached our first house though, the lady who we were delivering to was the most friendly and excited person that we had delivered to yet! She was so excited to see us, and so thankful that we were bringing her lunch! On our prior route, the people seemed to be thankful for our deliveries; however, they appeared stand offish towards us in general. Part of the opportunity that Meals on Wheels provides is the chance to get to know the people you deliver to. This lady’s joy and anticipation changed my entire mood regarding today’s delivery. As we delivered to each house, every person we encountered seemed really gracious and eager to talk to us. There were also a large amount of children at the homes we delivered to today. They were so excited to see us, even though the meals we were delivering weren’t for them personally. As we would get in our car to leave, several of the kids ran to their doors to wave goodbye to us and say thank you. It was exciting to have a more in depth interaction with the people we were serving. The joy that they expressed to us was contagious and it made me eager for next week’s delivery!