He Did It!

Well what do you know, this guy went and got himself voted on the Williamson County Fire & Rescue Squad. Though he just finished Franklin Citizens' Fire Academy not too long ago, this process started well before then and we're excited to see it into the next phase. If you haven't read some about part of that journey, you are more than welcome to here.

I remember just last summer, us talking about an unmet need in his life to serve in a similar capacity. Since leaving West Point and serving small stints doing relief work in Indonesia, Sudan, and Haiti, I've watched Cliff struggle to pinpoint a place in his life in which he can regularly do that thing he doesn't know how to explain he needs to do. Which is to sacrifice a little bit of himself for the good of many others in ways that aren't necessarily the average. Not for show, not for a notch on his belt, but just because.

I love that about him, and yet find myself sometimes in a little bit of fear of it. But not a strong enough kind that causes me to want to tether him down to a safe and boxed life. We often muse over the oddity surrounding his departure from West Point and the multiple times Cliff has looked into returning to the military, be it considering ROTC in his latter days at Belmont or meeting with recruiters from the National Guard (just last year, mind you). In many ways, we believe that departure is the step in his path that brought us together, as much as it didn't make sense at the time.

And so as much as he has continued to long for some part of that kind of life, I have tried to pray and talk and believe myself into supporting at least his small steps into journeying towards that. This is his way, for now; one that I'm sure will prove to be unique, challenging, and a great deal rewarding. I am so, so proud.

A Girl Can't Get Ahead

Lunch break post today. Sippin' on a B&C Fruit Tea and finally getting around to that post about our Habitat Trip. I have to tell you, it feels like these days there are just some things that are a little more important than updating the blog. I sense that everyone else is sort of feeling that way too, considering the dip my Reader has seen these days in entries.

I've gone back and forth about so many things in life right now that are falling "below the line" (you FPU graduates can appreciate the term). But I won't be in denial and I've got no excuses. Somethings are JUST MORE IMPORTANT. BUT. That doesn't mean the stupid things don't get in the way of the important things (like calling your Dad back, sorry Dad!)

Our Habitat Week was fabulous and I've found myself missing the rhythms we found in waking up at 6AM and eating breakfast together, throwing on grubby clothes/work gloves/boots, taking the boat across the lake, hammering/chipping/pounding away at subflooring/tiles/drywall/siding, break times and lunch times, and evenings spent together hiking/playing games/conversing/eating.

The thirteen (and then twelve, after we lost one... to sickness, she had driven separately and went back home, poor thing) of us spent the week working with Habitat of Cleveland on two different projects.

Project One (for good weather days - Tues/Weds): Construction on two homes in a Habitat Subdivision.

One home was in the final stages (on the outerworks) of preparation, so most of the manwork on that house went into siding. Cliff, another student, and I were paired with an almost full-time volunteer who showed us the ropes of siding (which I LOVE) and monitored our progress. Cliff was the expert hammerer and I, the expert measurer. We made a good team. Being up on the scaffolding (with no harness or belay) was kind of exhiliratingly terrifying but a great experience. Once we got to the point of no return on siding, there was plenty of opportunity for us to join up with the team that was next door working on the other house. House two was in the beginning stages of construction, so we put out floor trusses and nailed down subflooring. And there's not a lot of science involved with that, but we made it kind of like a game and that made the time that much more enjoyable. The gentleman who's home the foundation/trusses/subflooring would one day turn into joined us for both days out on the worksite. It's an incredible experience, sharing in the effort it takes to build a Habitat Home with the person it will one day benefit.

Project Two (for bad weather days - Mon/Thurs/Fri): Demolition on a rundown theater Habitat purchased to turn into a consolidated location for their Headquarters, HomeStore, and Construction Facility.

While the lovechild of Habitat, this was probably the most challenging and somehow rewarding part of the week. It felt odd to do both construction and demolition, but when we saw how much this was going to be able impact the work Habitat does in Cleveland, you couldn't help but feel good about it. And, there's something incredibly therapeutic about wielding a sledgehammer and beating down walls. Not to mention packing and hacking away for hours at ancient tiling practically cemented to cinder blocks. With hair and nostrils filled with dust and whatever else drywall is made up of, we left those workdays sore and in much need of rest.

Our evening festivities include two sunset hikes, a night out on the town (i.e. the bowling alley/local Starbucks), game nights, and lots of really good (if I don't say so, myself) food. We closed out the week with a trip to Chattanooga on Saturday, complete with a final lunch together, a visit to the Aquarium, and treats at Ben & Jerry's. It was actually kind of sad when we all parted ways, the van bound for Nashville and the two of us heading back into Cleveland to celebrate Cliff's mom's birthday. We'd spent a week with people who were mostly strangers and turned out to be friends - people we could trust to look out for us in sometimes dangerous situations.

We loved everything about our week together and look forward to more opportunities to do something like this again!