Finally

Yeah, I know, it’s been like a month since I posted anything. Sorry about that. I really did mean to. There were several times where I even planned out what I wanted to say, but then there wouldn’t be internet or I wouldn’t have time, and then I was on vacation and too busy relaxing and well, it just never happened. After hearing so many comments about how long it had been since I posted anything, I feel obliged to go ahead and give you a taste of all those posts that never were.

“I Miss it Already”
I meant to have a post that last week in Alabama. I wanted to talk about how great the project had been, how much I’d learned and how sad I was that it was time to leave. There at the end I got to lay some tile and do a little trim carpentry. It was wonderful and I decided I definitely had not had enough of building. When my ten months is up, I’m really considering signing up with AmeriCorps State and National or Vista and trying to spend a year working solely with Habitat. But we’ll see what the rest of the year holds. We also took a day trip to New Orleans. I wanted to tell you about the wonderful sights and smells and how I met my sister there and how great that was.
But, well, I had to pack, and I had to do my part for the end of project portfolio and there was a Christmas party to prepare for and snowflakes to cut out and it just never happened.

“Shock to the System”
When we made it back to campus I thought I’d do a post describing what it was like stepping out of the van and into the frozen Vinton tundra. It was brutal. I was wearing the warmest thing I had with me--a hoodie--but when I sucked in my first breath of 4 degree air, and sunk knee deep in snow, and felt the swirling icy air stinging every inch of my ill protected body, my first and only thought was “WHAT MADE PEOPLE THINK THIS PLACE WAS INHABITABLE!!!” In the few days that we were there I did seem to acclimate a bit, or at least make some peace with the inhospitable conditions. I stopped wanting to cry every time I stepped outside and I even put on four layers and went out and played in it once. But, there were debriefings to prepare for and business to take care of and that one didn’t happen either.

“Christmas Capers”
I caught a ride from Iowa to Oklahoma City, then my mom brought me back Broken Arrow, and then the whole family piled in a van drove to Colorado. I thought I would post something about all we had done and how much fun we were having but I was too busy having fun doing things.

“So, Where Am I?”
When we finally made back to Oklahoma a few days ago, I was shocked to find it still thickly blanketed with snow. I planned to show pictures of Iowa, Colorado, and Oklahoma and talk about how the snow seems to be chasing me. (Can you guess which state this is?) It all started in Alabama. Mobile didn’t actually get any, but the rest of the AL and surrounding states got a rare and historic snow storm. A few days before we headed back to Iowa, we heard the snow was so bad that even the snow plows had been called off the roads and they were expecting drifts up to 15 feet high. We had to take the longer route to Colorado because roads were closed due to snow. While still in Colorado, Tulsa had its first ever blizzard warning. To top it all off, our drive back thru Kansas took about 5 hours longer than it should have because of, you guessed it, snow. So yeah, there is definitely an overabundance of frozen precipitation in my life.

There’s a sizable chance this ominously white omen has been forewarning the next 7 weeks of my life. After one week in Vinton, my team will be heading to Augusta, Michigan to work at the Sherman Lake YMCA youth camp. One of the few things I can think of that would be less hospitable than January in Michigan is January in Michigan surrounded by fifth graders. But yep, I’m off to be a camp counselor and doggoneit I plan to enjoy it (this last sentence is of course said thru a quivering, unconvincing smile and terror filled eyes). I don’t like the cold, but I know I can endure it. I don’t like kids, and I assume they’re endurable…but since they frighten me and make me incredibly uncomfortable, this theory has never actually been tested. When I feel the panic start to rise, I just focus on the indoor climbing wall and swimming pool that the camp allegedly has and I feel a lot better. Twill be a learning experience indeed. I really don’t have many details yet, but it’s bound to be interesting. Most of my team is really excited, so hopefully I can learn from/feed off them…..or let them do their thing while I cower in the corner. We’ll just see how it goes.

Alright, I guess that wraps it up for the posts that never were. And now that I know people are actually reading this, perhaps I'll be more motivated to keep this updated in a more timely manner!
(Oh yeah, and that last picture was from Oklahoma.)