The Force of Habitat

Some co-workers on the job site

Last Friday I joined women volunteers at a Habitat for Humanity building site. My three daughters were there, including Amy, the executive director of HH for our community. Okay, I admit it. I would never have thought about volunteering, but she mentioned the free lunch. Well, it's kind of free; if you volunteer, you're expected to cough up a $25 donation for the privilege of volunteering. I'm good with that. Where else could you spend $25 and get not only a free lunch, but sore muscles?

After we were issued gloves, nail aprons and hammers, we gathered around the MEN, who of course were there to keep us from killing ourselves or each other. We were told we'd be building walls on the floor and then raise them up into place. Hey, no problem! I lift walls frequently in my daily life. We were not told that some women had never swung a hammer before, and we'd be seeing building techniques devised by people who struggle applying their nail polish. Now, don't get me wrong here! I applaud my sisters' courage in volunteering for hard labor, but that usually means we get a fresh baby out of the deal.

Wall holding: a part of wall lifting.

Some of us had attended a building clinic. The nice folks at Lowe's Home Improvement showed us how to apply drywall, including taping and smearing on joint compound.
We girls were pretty good at that, having spent many hours in our lives wrapping gifts with scotch tape and frosting cakes. But those skills were not needed on Friday, which was wall-framing day, and we brought hammering styles of all kinds, the best being one that resembled playing croquet: using two hands and swinging between your legs, backwards.




We started at 8 am, and by 8:13 I found the free donut table out in the yard.

Tools of the trade: T-shirt, donut, hammer.

I was now ready for wall building. My companions and I, by lunchtime,  built three handsome and sturdy walls which will forever define the edges of the owner's bedroom and the adjoining hall.  In the end, our skills learned while smashing the steaks with the meat tenderizing hammer paid off.

It's all in the wrist.

 



  I remember when walls were build vertically, in place. Building a wall on the floor was the brainchild of the National Chiropractic Association. The year they suggested building walls on the floor, chiropractic adjustments increased 43%.

It's not any harder than lifting seventeen 2 X 4's.

The final stage is lifting the wall. In my team's case, we couldn't remember where the wall was supposed to go, so we lifted and lowered it four different times. Finally, the MEN showed us where to place it.

I don't volunteer very much. I don't like to tarnish my reputation as a selfish bitch, a distinction I've earned over a long time, but when I donate money and sweat to a cause, I like it to be a good one. Habitat for Humanity puts deserving, hard-working people in houses they can afford and which they help build themselves. That's cool. That's as cool as Icy Hot, which I am now wearing.