Week 20

One nail in every square foot of the floor? Gladly...

The countdown to Winter Break is at an end as my bags lay packed at the foot of my bed on this the eve of my departure for home. I’ll be coming back to Vicksburg in a couple of weeks, but this break marks the halfway point in my 10-month journey. So far, it’s been pretty life altering…in a good way.

Last week was extremely bitter sweet as I finished my last week of work with PNOLA and left New Orleans, which had become my temporary home. The people I met there were kind and unique, and I’m grateful for the 2 months I got to live amongst them.

Monday through Thursday was spent sheet rocking a second house with a new group of volunteers. This time I knew what I was doing, and everything went smoothly. We got a good amount of the place finished before leaving town, and it was nice to leave on a high note. PNOLA gave us a dinner send off party on Thursday evening, and then it was back to Vicksburg for debriefing and such on Friday.

Though we’ve been having chilly weather down here, it hadn’t quite felt like Christmas until this weekend. My team and I work a 10 ½ hour day doing Toys for Tots in Jackson on Saturday, and it was really great. I’ve never participated in any kind of toy drive or anything before, so this was completely new to me. I spent the day walking individuals around a giant room in a convention center, leading them to age/gender specific tables where they could choose 2 toys for each of their children. I’d put the toys in a garbage bag, walk them to the door and take the next parent waiting in line to start the process over again. It was a long day, and my feet hurt terribly by the end, but after that, I knew Christmas was on its way! On Sunday, some of the girls in a dorm just down from mine made sugar cookies, which they invited everyone to come and decorate. It was quite a festive party, and everyone had a good time.

Today was spent debriefing on our projects and in various other meetings, after which we had a big Holiday party dinner. We also cleaned our van and had a “mini project” where we went to a 12-acre cemetery built on hilly terrain and cleaned out a bunch of dead fallen trees and the like.

Now, to bed I must go, as I have a full day of Ameri-stuff tomorrow, followed by the long drive to Kentucky. Jacquie and I are renting a car for the occasion, and according to GoogleMaps, it should be about a 10 ½ hour drive, putting us in the driveway at about 5am.

May you all have a very Merry Christmas as I am planning to do, and I’ll let you know what’s happening in the New Year.

Crocheting event.