If I had a Hammer

The weekend melts away tonight with total satisfaction of accomplishment, friends, good food a Sunday night cigar and a feeling of appreciation for it all. We did not work Saturday, as usual. Instead, we spent the day on a construction crew with Habitat For Humanity building a house. I didn't know what to expect from the day as I got up at 5 AM to get ready. I packed the truck for a long day and walked Paws in the dark, despite the coyote crew that were howling on the corner. I had instructed the boys that I was leaving at 7 AM sharp whether they were there or not. My crew is not known for being on time and less than responsible with early hours, especially on a Saturday. Much to my delight, Mike and Emo arrived ahead of schedule and devoured donuts and milk in the truck while we waited for the others. The Kent boys arrived just 30 seconds before I was ready to go and we were off, the 5 of us, driving south with sunrise just beginning. We arrived at the jobsite where throngs of volunteers were checking in and shivering in the cold. Our assignment was the Selgado house and the wall raising, Whatever that meant. Turns out, it meant building the walls from 2X4's with hammers and nails. We donned aprons and hammers and got to work. For the first hour the sound of 34 hammers pounding in spikes was deafening music. As the last nail was in place the foreman orchestrated raising the first wall built which was a cooperative effort of every person picking it up and bolting it into position. The recipient of the home was in tears as she watched her house being constructed. There was immense satisfaction in that moment. And then we had 3 more to build, and so it got down to hard work. For me, a woman that could not hang a picture last week, to have participated in building a house was ineffable.