These past few days have been wonderful. I am working on a house on Jeannette Street which has already come such a long way in the past two days. My job has been exterior decorating. The first day was spent primarily washing the siding of the house and applying primer. Now I should note that the house is tall enough that applying paint to the house requires using ladders... very tall ladders.... that wobble and shake...and don't feel super safe. I should ALSO note that I have an irrational fear of ladders and heights- its not completely unwarranted actually: when I lived in Florida, we were setting up shutters on the windows to prepare for the oncoming hurricane, and my neighbor fell off the ladder and become paralyzed from the waist down. So maybe its not so irrational. ANYWAY, I decided that I wanted to overcome this fear, so I didn't let anybody know that I was actually terrified to be on a ladder.
I am happy to say that by the end of the first day I was the last one painting, on the wobbly ladder nonetheless!
One of my goals for this week has been to get to know some of my fellow Bonners on a deeper level and I feel that even in these past few days, I have formed better relationships with some of the Bonners. While working on the sunny side of the house, I have been given the opportunity to socialize with Michael, Flora, DJ, Priyanka and Kerry.
Over the past two days, Flora and I have formed a relationship filled with support and encouragement. I remember being on the ladder and feeling the wind ruffle my hair, which would have normally made me super happy, but while twenty feet in the air, I wasn't so pleased. In fact, I began to panic a little. It was at that time that I heard Flora yell up from the ground "Keep going Mariah, you're doing a great job." Eight words, maybe ten seconds, but it made my day. It felt so good to have people supporting me and encouraging me to continue.
DJ and I have also formed/ are forming an interestingly supportive relationship. Although our conversations consist of making fun of the other or obnoxiously saying "man" it provides comic relief. Our day is filled with laughter and positive vibes. I know that whether or not I make fun of him for using "mad" in place of "really" that he would help me without a moments hesitation if I needed him- and that means a lot.
Mr. Perry (the homeowner) drove by today so we got the chance to talk with him, well hear him talk is more accurate. He is one of the sweetest, most honest men I have had the pleasure to meet. I came to New Orleans knowing that I wanted to help people, but after hearing even that little snippit about the Perry's lives, I want to give them their dream house. I want to give them a house that they can be proud of. I want to give them a house that is the color green that they love. I want to give them a house they can live in for the rest of their lives. We all have enough challenges that we face everyday- no one should have to deal with troubles that accompany an event that destroys your house and tears your life apart.
I look forward to seeing what the rest of the week has to offer.
Quote of the day: "Katrina done wiped out all the crackheads out here." - Mr. Perry
No comments:
Post a Comment