Halfway Point

Week 4

It's really weird to think that my summer here on the mountain is halfway over already. So much has happened these past 4 weeks, but then, I feel like so much hasn't happened yet. I'm already thinking about how hard it is going to be to say goodbye to some of the people here, but at the same time I'm still working on my own weaknesses as if I've just arrived. I apologize to my faithful readers for not updating more often, but I have been pretty busy. I'll start with my usual family profiles for my contact homes from last week and this week. Don't forget to try and guess the theme for group names!

"The Buggles"

At the Buggles, we installed foundation under the trailer and last week finished a vapor barrier and trailer anchors (obnoxious things that serve no purpose other than to please our inspector) and this week we've moved on to underpinning and repairing the laundry room floor. My group that week was not particularly out of the ordinary, but they got quite a bit accomplished. The family at the Buggles is pretty fantastic--a mom and dad and their son. The son has cerebreal palsy (our next project is to build him a new wheelchair ramp) but is still a very bright and pretty hilarious. He has the biggest crush on Kristina :p And his parents take exceptionally good care of him. You can tell that all they have goes into caring for their son and they love him to death. It's a great home to visit.

"Sir Mix-a-Lot" 1 and 2

A project this big needed two crews! We had one working on a 180-foot drainage ditch that went around three sides of the house and out to the creek in front, and another working on a retaining wall in back. As you may have guessed, there is a moutain threatening to drench and bury this house. A lot of the back floor has already been pushed underground, so this week we've started work in their kitchen, replacing rotted flooring. Lots of flashing everyone! (the metal variety, that is :) The family is pretty great as well, an older couple and a daughter with down's syndrome and two sons that I rarely see because they work all day. The mom is particularly great to talk to.

Unfortunately, that house seems to be cursed for me. On the Sunday night when I took the new volunteers out to see the site, I was busily trying to make a good impression when a ground wasp stung me right in the ribcage, near my neck. All I could say was, "Ouch! It got me!" as I commenced worrying about whether or not I was allergic and if my throat could swell up. Thankfully it didn't, but it did hurt like a you know what, and only recently stopped itching. Then last week I was visiting the house during the day, checking out the group's measurments for the retaining wall, when all of a sudden my feet were no longer underneath me where they were supposed to be. I landed flat on my butt in the mud and the underside of my arm hit a wheelbarrow, leaving a lovely bruise that people keep asking me about whenever I raise my hand. That was rather embarassing :p

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Another embarrassing moment from last week that has nothign to do with this house: Stephen, our operations coordinator, had the day off on Thursday, so Britt and I were in charge of getting everything ready for the picnic. Not only did we have trouble finding things and properly mixing pink lemonade, but we almost lost a grill. And when I say lost, I mean forgot to tie down in the back of our pickup truck to drive to the picnic site. I also mean that it flew out of the back of the truck just as Britt got to the bottom of the hill. I was behind her in the van and saw it wobble, did the whole Dane Cook gasp (I did not have time to say, "You are about to lose your grill!") and watched it soar about 30 feet away from the truck. Ooops. Luckily, it didn't break. And luckily we had a group leader (Yodel!) brave enough to grill for us in the pouring rain that ensued.

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Back to my families for week 4...

"Dr. and the Medics" 1 and 2

Another double crew makes my life easier. A porch was put on in previous weeks, but still needs a few touch-ups (spindles and Y-bracing, mostly). It's a great looking porch that wraps around the side of the house, with a nice wide staircase up in front and a table and chairs already in place for visitors. The next step for crew 1 is to work on the bathroom floor. Similar to the house at Sir Mix-a-Lot, the moutain is attempting to devour the house, so we're replacing wet and rotted floor. Group 2 is in the back building a massive retaining wall that will eventually be 2 tiers high. I really love being at this house--the homeowner is the sweetest person ever, a single older woman, with perfect Appalachian wrinkles and long white hair. And she has kittens!! :p The group leaders for this house are also pretty great. Unfortunately there's a floating adult leader who seems to have assigned himself to this project, and the group is more than grateful to accept his assistance. He is helpful, but the problem is, he doesn't actually know as much about construction as his strut knows he does. And he's sexist. And I really just don't care for this man very much. It's possible I'm letting first impressions get to me--he made a grossly innapropriate comment during Sunday night GL meeting that instantly made me hate him and that I would rather not repeat. After hearing that, I exaggerate the rest. But in my own defense, he really was grossly innapropriate. We'll see how the rest of the week goes.

"Deep Blue Something"

I like the project, first off because it's pretty easy--board and batten siding, everybody! w00t! And second of all, there are puppies. Four of them. They trip over eachother and let you hold them, and aren't they just the cutest things? I want one, until it gets old and barks too much. There is also an adorable little 4 year old girl who is sometimes shy, sometimes very loud, depending on the situation. I imagine I was kind of like her, only less of the shy part. The group leader was at first uncertain, but now seems very into the project. I don't know this group or family super well yet (all I know is that they're awesome, as usual) but hopefully I'll get to visit more later this week.

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I have today off, which has been nice. I went for a run/jog/walk this morning because it wasn't too hot yet when I woke up, except the route I chose turned out to be one giant hill. It was fairly gradual, but it went on and on and on... I ended up walking, but then running down was quite nice. Unfortunately, my knee now hurts quite a bit, especially stepping up or down hill. It's the left one--the royally messed up one that I was hoping not to have problems with until I was at least thirty. Cross your fingers it's temporary and meanwhile I'll avoid running. But despite that, I'm really glad I went.

On the way back, I realized that going up our driveway, there's a little path veering off to the right. I was tired and sweaty, but also thinking a lot, and I felt like following it. It ended quickly in weeds, but I could still make out where it once had been, and I had the feeling I was about to discover something, so I kept going. Eventually I got to a little clearing where there were benches rising up the hill and a stage and an old campfire pit--it was clear that ASP had once used this place for EG's, because I found half of the words to "Prince of Peace" on a rotten piece of plywood underneath the stage. There was some kind of historical, maybe holy, feeling about this place, the way the light filtered down through the trees directly onto the stage. I half expected to find cobwebs--even the firewood was so old that mushrooms were growing all over it. I just sat there for a good half hour, stretching and thinking (and thinking and thinking). There has been a lot on my mind lately. And even though I didn't come to conclusions about much of anything, sitting there laying out all of my unanswered questions, and just accepting them as unanswerable and uncertain, made me feel so much calmer.

Whatever happens will happen, whatever comes will come. Here is the wisdom to know the difference--there are things I cannot know and questions I cannot answer just yet, so I will just have to wait and see and feel as I go. So refreshing. After I showered (and took a trip to Wal-Mart and painted my toenails hot pink) I went back there to journal and think some more, and I brought my camera. Maybe next week I'll get to the library so I can upload the photos and you can see them--they're pretty fantastic.