Amelia- Florence Crittenton- Day Three

Tuesday, Jan. 15
About every six weeks, Florence Crittenton Services of North Carolina hosts a “Baby Item Auction” in its multipurpose room for residents from the facility’s maternity ward. Large items, such as cribs, strollers, high chairs, and bassinets, are auctioned off and small items, mostly clothes and toys, are bought with “baby bucks,” which residents can earn. Today, our group set up and supervised the Baby Item Auction, which allowed us to interact one-on-one with the residents and learn a few things about them.
First, there was Vernice (pronounced like “Bernice,” but with a V instead). Before today, our group had encountered her in the lunch room, where she seemed very guarded and angry – borderline mean. However, today she had an upbeat disposition, as she possessed the greatest amount of baby bucks, 525 to be exact. Vernice humored all of us with her excitement about all the items she was able to buy for her “baby girl”. With almost every outfit she picked up, she announced to the room what occasion it would be for. “My baby’s goin’ to church,” she said, as she showcased an infant-sized white, silky dress. She nearly had us rolling on the floor when she attempted to do a clogging dance.
Another woman named Rosie came to the auction. Her personality was nearly polar opposite from Vernice’s. She didn’t talk much and stood with slouched shoulders, but she had a small, sweet smile on her face the entire time she was there. Personally, I didn’t hear Rosie speak a word that day, but when one of our group members relayed something she said during the auction at our end-of-the-day reflection, it resonated in my mind all night. Rosie said that before she moved into Florence Crittenton, she honestly didn’t think she would be able to get any supplies or items for the baby – at all. Rosie was so thankful and so happy she could provide for her baby after the pregnancy. There were many other women who reacted similarly to how Vernice and Rosie did, but it was these two young ladies who made the greatest impression on me, at least at the auction.
I would say the two ladies who left the biggest imprints on my heart that day were Hailema and Erika. The two seemed close, but what was most interesting about this pair was that they were the oldest and youngest at Florence Crittenton. Hailema was 34 and Erika was only 12 and a half. However, both were probably in the same phase of pregnancy. Regardless, I could tell that Hailema had the role of a mother, or maybe an aunt, figure for Erika.
Erika’s age struck me. At 12 and a half years old, I just began having periods. My mom told me I crossed the brink of womanhood when it happened.  If Erika had started at the same age as me, she sure made one fast leap from the beginning of womanhood to the difficult job of motherhood.