Well the last day of work is over. I can't believe it's time to pack up the van and head home in the morning. What an amazing weeks it's been. I have truly loved this whole experience, nasty showers, too many carbs, cockroaches by my bed and all. Our Horizon team really amazed me. The teens were all awesome. They came to work every day to pull their weight and worked harder then I ever imagined they would. What an awesome group!!! The adults worked really well together as every found their nitch. I discovered that I love power tools. After a great first lesson from Frank , I quickly felt comfortable with the two main power saws, and it wasn't long before I was teaching "power sawing 101" to others. Who would have guessed I had it in me? (I always made sure to follow the "Frank Vaughan School Of Power Tool Safety" with every cut.) I was also thrilled with the lesson from Michael and Peter on how to use the "saws-all" (spelling?) and I even cut out the frame of a window. After that experience I felt like Sandman from the last Spiderman Movie, as I was covered from my head to my toes in sawdust. It stuck to me like glue in all the sweat and sunscreen that I was covered in, but... surprisingly it felt amazing! A bit scratchy, but amazing!
I've loved getting to know the kids. I had so much fun laughing with Hannah. We learned that we shop well together at Win-Dixie even though the people in the store looked at us funny, since we would come straight from work and looked rather grungy. I'm also sure we all smelled a bit funky too! Hannah and I spent a lot of time together riding in our crazy van, sleeping in not so comfortable beds near each other and laughing over both of our likes and dislikes. (Plus there are also great crab imitations with hand motions to go with it.) I loved talking with the boys and laughing and having fun. An afternoon snack of "crack cookies" is great to bond over. What a great group!!
Well, as I close this out, I can honestly say that I am so looking forward to many more Habitat experiences. This has been a life changing week for me and I feel like I have really grown and have gained so much from this trip. Doing the amazing yet such challenging work, meeting many wonderful people from around the country, and learning so much about the area, the people and about myself has just been such a growth opportunity. I am looking forward to the next Habitat build! Next year, June 2008? Can't wait!!!
Deborah
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4 comments:
I'm all teary-eyed reading all y'all's blogs, missing the whole thing a lot. Both yesterday and today I kept looking at my watch, thinking "Right now, they're loading into the van" or "Yay, lunch time!" or "Aaaaah, they're back at Camp Hope, hitting the showers!" Sorry I missed the watermelon, though ;)
I agree: these teens are truly an inspiration. They never stopped working really hard... they never whined (the whining you heard was me)... and they were a very dramatic contrast to a few college kids who apparently came to WATCH a house get built, sitting under the house in the shade, or on the porch, letting us move ladders and sheathing around them.
A million thanks to all y'all, for your patience, good humor, sharing your talents, and especially to Deborah who (fortunately) would not, could not take off her "mom hat," and to Frank, who is certainly my hero: this experience was life-altering and would not have happened without his fearless leadership!
June '08!
Meg
hey, do you think you could market the sawdust/sunscreen/sweat thing as an exfoliant? ;)
We could probably market the exfoliant if we can find a way to add in a can of FIMA water as well. Whatcha think? Maybe it might be a big seller at FIASCO......
Deb
I can't figure out how to post the pictures on this blog, so I'm uploading them on the googlegroup (http://groups.google.com/group/horizon-habitat-hammers/files?hl=en). I'm sure there's an easier way, but darned if I can find it. The blanks are cuz I thought the pics were uploading from the actual computer but they weren't: I took the CD out midway thru, and it just kept uploading nuthin'. I'm on a friend's computer, and now I can't figure out why it doesn't seem to want to read the CDs from CVS... it's kind of sad when everything I do is as challenging as trying to build a house. Apologies.
Meg
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