Yesterday, the company I work for, sent me and several others out to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity. The build site was located in the "Drive-By Shooting" area of town. We armed ourselves with bullet proof vests, ample firepower and donuts.
When we all showed up at the job, we learned a few things. Sometimes those who oversee these volunteer organizations don't shower every week. Yet they must stand close when supervising. I dragged my husband and my oldest son with me. They laughed at me every time our supervisor, Mee-mo, felt the need to hover near me and "check my work." Within minutes we discovered that Mee-mo didn't appreciate women working at his site and he felt compelled to correct and find fault with every tiny bit of work we completed. But when Ron, Sean or Troy (the only dudes on the site) took on a project, it was all flag waving and whistles about the great job they did. In their defense, they really did a good job. It helped that they could shovel, haul and lift more than 50 lbs. But Mee-mo spent his day griping at women and talking on his cell phone. I've never seen a man spend so much time chatting his day away on a cell phone. This of course, kept him from doing any real work.
After all the concrete was poured, I was given the challenge of unscrewing the supporting braces from the forms. I was inside the "house" kneeling down, making lots of noise with the electric screwdriver. Suddenly I feel wet cement clumps being thrown down on me and in my hair, so I stood and said "EXCUUUSE ME!" I was beyond shocked to find our smelly supervisor doing something besides complaining about the women and talking on his cell phone. Mr Mee-mo said "Well, I'm doing an IMPORTANT job. What are YOU doing?" (Not like he couldn't hear me below!) When I explained the job I'd been assigned, he sort of backed down, but still continued his attitude (and smell.) It was like that all day. Thank goodness for Kate, Tracy, Tina, Troy, Ron and Sean. Most of us found humor in the ridiculousness of the day. And it was a L-O-N-G day. I kept asking Kate for the time and when I was just sure it was nearly time for lunch (and a break!) and she said it was 9:30 am. I hate Kate's watch.
We worked at two home sites next door to each other. One was nearly finished and the other was just getting the concrete base poured. We moved dirt. Lots of dirt. We finished building a retaining wall. We measured and marked off the concrete forms. We helped with the cement pour, leveled it off and then removed the tops of the forms when the cement had dried. We cleaned all that up and then went back and hauled more dirt. Ron re-did some of the siding.
The highpoint of my day was when I asked Tina to put the screwdriver in a bucket that was out of reach to me. I got to say " Tina, could you put this in the bucket over there . . . by the shitter." I felt like a full-fledged construction gal. But not THAT full-fledged. I didn't use it once.
My feet hurt. My fingers hurt. My cheeks hurt. (Both sets.) When I showered later that day, I found dirt and dried cement in places I didn't know could house those things. And I chipped a nail. So, a long day was had by all. And to quote Tracy, "next year I'll write a [damn] check!" (The "damn" was mine.)
