2nd Build Day. Lawrence, KS
Have felt totally great these mornings. Forgot what it feels like to not have to freshen up, gear up, and pack your entire belongings all in 30 min. I think its fair to say we all got to the build site pretty excited to take our progress even further and get back in our rhythm.
Dave was one of the older knowledgeable guys helping out and just as we arrived i made a passing comment about his shirt which led into a ten minute conversation about "Retro Cocktail Hour" which is this great 50's lounge music that Dave loves which they apparently play on this one Kansas radio station. He totally jumped on the opportunity to talk all about it and i love it when you can get that reaction in a person. I really feel that life is all about passion, both serious and silly. If you ever find someone so into something the way Dave was into Retro Cocktail Hour you better shutup and listen because that person is sharing something that is so special to them and that kind of raw, energetic passion is so beautiful and contagious.
The building went great. I realized I'm actually becoming decently knowledgeable on home repair which is so cool. That kind of autonomy and self confidence is awesome. We covered the trusses in plywood and actually gave the house the start of its roof. Walking on the roof was fun but once again sort of terrifying. The before and after pics from yesterday and today are so awesome.
Also, the house is literally right across the street from a cemetary and you can see from the yard the grave of Dr. James Naismith, the inventor of basketball, which was apparently done as a 1891 indoor winter sport for a local YMCA. Basketball is consuming at KU and the whole team visits the grave before the finals and such and the whole town takes super pride in him so it was cool to visit it. (What they won't tell you is that as KU's first ever basketball coach, he actually to this day has the worst ever loss to win ratio of all coaches since)
We had our first picnic since Connecticut tonight courtesy of the whole Habitat community and it was so intensely pleasant to eat and converse like that outdoors. Especially with some of the older gentlemen we had been working all day with. John was the awesome 91 year old who was just totally on his game the whole day and taking apart nail guns and generally being wise and supportive and grandfatherly. Mark was the supervisor and i really got to like him over these two days. He was just genuinely nice to us and it showed in the way he treated us that he appreciated our efforts. He also showed us his rumored "down in one" nailing.
Totally wierd: The first person i mingled with at the dinner was this 70 year old pastor named Phil. We got into conversation about my school and he mentioned how since he went to Seminary in Boston he had once taken a few classes at the Harvard Divinity School. So far so normal. But not when I mentioned how i had also taken a class there last year WITH THE SAME PROFESSOR THAT HE HAD! Harvey Cox must be 80 yrs old now and is kind of a big deal in religious studies and actually taught both of us 50 years apart. I still remember how much I enjoyed his class and his teaching enthusiasm. Phil must have been among his first sets of students. Crazy!!!!
This stay in Lawrence was a much needed rest for us. Super Huge Mega Ultra thanks to Lori from the Habitat here for putting everything together so well and for just being plain cool and energetic and laughing at my jokes. It wouldn't have been the same without her watching out for us so much. You rock Lori!
Heading into the second half of the trip I'm in a great place. I just feel very centered and ready to absorb everything fully, and not flustered and disoriented as in the first few weeks. I'm back in the bubble, not really thinking about the real world and its truly bliss. I really feel that the ability to totally let go like that, even for days or hours at a time is so healthy for us. How many vacations or breaks are spent thinking about what has to happen upon return. Hopefully not too many. I guess it goes more generally into my whole theme of being present in the moment. It definitely takes practice and willpower, but consciously forcing ourselves to relax and live in carefree bliss for moments at a time is something i think we all owe ourselves sometimes.
I'm really looking forward to the change in scenery we're about to undergo in only 9 days. It's wild how we're going from rolling foresty hills to flat, farmland plains, to soaring snowy mountains, to burning deserts all in the same trip and I love it. America is really wild geographically when you think about it. Can't wait for the desert. Go Nature!
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