This past Saturday, we had a typically under-volunteered weekend at Habitat (Saturdays always fall short), but it was still a treat, for several reasons. For one, the people were actually competent and excited to be working. As for the other, it was a group that has participated in Habitat for four years now, in memoriam of their late friend, Sean.
I didn’t get the full scoop on the person or the manner of death, but what I did get was the motivation and the real sense of duty that these people felt to do this. Apparently he was 20 years old when passed away, four years ago, and was a carpenter. Every year since then, his family (extended and immediate) and friends (college, high school, work) come together on his Birthday and volunteer with
Peninsula Habitat for Humanity. Pretty amazing.
At first, I’ll be honest, I felt a little awkward. During the day, as you’ll find out if you ever feel the need to punish yourself and come work with me, I tend to joke and generally goof around with my volunteers, while still getting work done. I feel that this is about the only way I can relate to people in general, and in a situation where you’re asking someone to do some back-breaking labor for free, it helps if they’re laughing while incurring injuries to send their chiropractor’s kid through college. I’m a nice guy that way. However, For the first hour or so, I felt like my general jocularity and joviality (two great J-words) was improper, at best, and disrespectful, at worst. It really wasn’t until lunchtime, when one of my volunteers left, and while he was saying goodbye to the other volunteer (his brother), why it was not only appropriate to be having fun while doing this, but almost demanded of them.
As Scott said goodbye to Andy (I still remember their names, that’s amazing, since I can barely remember my volunteer from today’s name), I found out a couple things. First, that they were brothers, and second that this was a coming together as a family for them, as much as it was a memorial for a loved one. I don’t know, maybe this family has always been close and tight, and maybe that’s why they chose to do this, but I didn’t get that feeling. As Andy advised Scott to “take it easy” on the way up to Tahoe, there was a genuine sense of concern in his voice. not just the normal brotherly love. It was as if this event brought them closer together, not just geographically, but familiarly. They had lost one, they were not going to lose anymore.
Later on in the day, I checked in on Joe’s group to see how they were doing (the dreaded drywall), and everyone was having a great time. I found out later that Ian, Sean’s younger brother, was there, having a great time, and was helping push everything forward. At the ripe age of what looked to be 16, that’s pretty impressive. I’m not ashamed to say that if I lost either of my brothers at a young age, I’d have a hard time doing something that they loved to do, as a memorial or just as an everyday task, let alone let it be drywall, which is freaking miserable to do. But there he was laughing and helping lead the way. It was just kind of amazing.
I have to say, I’m not sure what the point of all this was. It was just pretty awesome to see people coming together to do something that they obviously weren’t great at, in the memory of someone that they really cared about. It’d be nice to think that I’d leave an impact of that magnitude when I go, but who knows.
justinª