August 29th, 2006: Feel good community service

So do endless cornfields and long straight roads make other people feel like napping in the car, or is it just me? I don’t know what it is, but on the way to Mankato this morning and the way back, I COULD NOT keep my eyes open. I felt like I was 10 years old, being driven by my parents. I struggled to stay alert and to try to maintain a conversation, but it was a losing battle. Thankfully, I don’t think that the Lyons took offense.

The nap was well worth it though. I had one of my best community service projects yet. A small group of us worked in the two (joined) homes of several adult residents of Mankato who happened to have mental disabilities. We cleaned, repainted, and restored their garages. Now, this is funny to me that I enjoyed this so much because I HATED painting when I did it for two summers. (Dad, it may be several years past, but now I appreciate you making me take those jobs). Today, I felt like a master. Donny was our group leader, but he wasn’t as familiar with painting as I am, so I coached him through, giving him tips as to how to make things go more smoothly and for things to look better. I very easily could have taken over, but I rather liked the role of consultant. Food for thought, eh? (Yes Dana, I’m working on my supervision skills, if you want to look at it that way).

The residents were thrilled to have us there. They hung out with us, played music for us to sing and dance to, and made us cookies. One of them got a big kick out of me because I couldn’t stop movin’ to the music. He started playing songs just to see what I’d do. Hey, anything to bring a smile to someone’s face, right? Thankfully, they joined us for our Root Beer Social afterwards and expressed excitement for the upcoming show. I don’t think I’ve ever met people so thrilled at the prospect of buying an UWP T-shirt and cast photo. I can’t wait until they see the show.

No matter how jazzed up I was, it couldn’t beat the effect of the corn fields, soy fields, and straight roads. I managed to get a few photos of the terrain then nod off. Mary was sweet and let me take a nap before dinner so I could wake up a bit. We chatted a about the UWP program and my life back in Mass, then went for a drive so I could see more of the area. There are an amazing amount of parks around here! Hopefully I can wake up early enough tomorrow to walk through one in the daylight. With that, I’m off.