Today I took some of my students on a work project for Habitat for Humanity. It’s hard work but very enjoyable because you really feel like you’re giving back to your community. Our particular supervisor today was 61 years old and has been working with Habitat since ‘87. Basically, he’s been doing this since I was 8 years old (I’m now 29). Super great guy, this supervisor is, and tiny. A little knot of a man. He’s five-foot-nothing, but can outwork most men twice his size. In that sense he is completely intimidating. But you can tell he’s got a warm heart and more than that loves working with teens which just makes him ultra-cool in my book.
We did a little of everything today. A little sheet-rock, a little trim, a little priming and a little painting. Mostly I just enjoyed watching one of the students try to hammer a nail into the ceiling. When he found it awkward to swing overhand he turned the hammer upside down, with the head of the hammer toward his elbow, and proceeded to hit the nail in. I informed him that it’s usually easier to hammer overhand and you also tend to hit the target more consistently but darn it if he didn’t hit that nail every time. What can I say? My students rule at hitting nails.
