I'm Bringing Sexy Back

Today is the day I've been dreaming about for a long time now. It was the first day I put on my NCCC uniform, went out in to the Sacramento community and "got things done!".

Pod 18 had the good fortune of working with Sylvan Ranch on their community garden project for members of a local assisted living facility. There were so many things that made me excited about the day, but first and foremost, the accessibility of the garden! As part of the planning, the garden is being built to be used for people of all abilities! GET IT! Second, it's a totally volunteer project. Third, THE PEOPLE ARE AMAZING!

Our work consisted of leveling the grounds of the garden, filling in beds, digging trenches and laying burlap to prevent run off, and hauling and raking massive amounts of dirt! By the end of the day my back was killing me, I'd consumed 7 bottles of water, and there was dirt in places I'd forgotten dirt could go! But most importantly, I LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT! Getting in there, getting dirty, pushing myself, and getting things done, always makes me feel so good! So the back, arm, and ab pain I'm currently feeling right now is more than worth it.

But perhaps what made the day more than anything, more so the amazing people we worked with, AND even more than Roger, the 11 year old the son of one of the volunteers who talked to us about Winston Churchill, conspiracy theories, and how to make mustard gas and napalms, was the brief conversation I had with one of the members of the assisted living facility.

I don't know his name, and in fact, we never actually "met". Instead, he watched us work outside his window for a while, smiled, waived overly-enthusiastically, and then said these brief words with a huge grin, "You're working too hard!" to which I said "Ahh it's not too bad! We take breaks!" and he responded even more excitedly, "keep up the good work!"

Seeing the smile on this man's face, and how happy he was to have a garden, really showed me just exactly what we're doing. It's going to make sitting through the next 3 weeks of training worth it. Sure it might be long days of power-points and information galore, but it will all be worth it when we can get out there and get things done again, and truly make a difference in community!

And so I'll leave you with some shots of the day.

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Your's in LFS