Hanging in there!

I saw Napoleon and his human, Randi, today!  They were sitting on their usual street corner. Cold, very cold to be sure, but she reassured me they were OK. The diarrhea that plagued Napoleon before Christmas is now a thing of the past. The shelter they have been frequently, which usually charges $23/person for a shower and a place to sleep, has lowered their price to $15 during this coldsnap. On the worst nights, Randi and Caleb and Napoleon have stayed there.

But here's the thing: colder weather means fewer people out on the street to help them out, so if they can bear it, they still sleep in their tent. She explained to me that it's really not so bad, except in the morning they find themselves uncomfortably wet. Their breath turns into condensation. I don't have any extra blankets -- this condo runs to the warm side -- but I do have some nice, serviceable bath towels to share. She enthusiastically said they would be most welcome and sort of explained how the towels would help. I didn't really follow, but didn't ask her to elaborate, either, because I know she doesn't like to just talk about her situation. She appreciates it when I relate to her as another woman, not as a "homeless woman." So when she asked about my Christmas, I told her about how my Florida bug bites swelled up and I ended up in Immediate Care last week. I also mentioned that I prayed for them in church on Christmas Eve. It had been almost three weeks since I'd seen them, and I wanted her to know they'd been in my thoughts.

This evening I packed up the three bath towels and gave them a spritz of Downy. After all, they've been in my closet for years and I don't want to give them anything musty for their enclosed tent. I also tossed in an Ann Rule paperback I found at the Little Free Library, since I know Ms. Rule is Caleb's favorite author.

It feels good to get out of myself and my own head a little bit, and think about Napoleon and his peeps.