For some reason, sometimes my heart aches when I think about the fact that I am leaving Pawnee City. It is only a couple of days before I head back home for 10 days. And I’m excited to go home and see my family and friends. But at the same time, I’ve grown attached to some places. The main place I’ve grown attached to is the historical society, understandably since it’s where we’ve been doing all of our work. I’ve probably attached myself to the fact that I got a chance to do physical work every single day for 6 straight weeks. While the work became mundane and redundant at times, it’s what I expected out of NCCC. I’m proud of myself for powering through and getting past the boring days to do the best job I could. That’s what this whole experience is about—in my eyes. Through all of the physical labor, you need to see that you’re performing community service for one person, a few people, or a whole community who wants your help. I’m not saying that I’ve thought about the service I was performing every day. More often than not, what was on my mind was “I got to get these weeds cut down or I got to scrape off as much bad paint as I could.” Really, I’m not sure if I ever consciously went into each work day thinking that I was really helping out a community. The main thing I thought about was that Yvonne, our site supervisor, sent in an application to get an NCCC team obviously because she had the need for us. The historical society does not have a lot of funds to maintain the buildings. Therefore, instead of complaining about how boring the work is, I needed to do my work with pride. It’s like in school when your parents and teachers tell you to signature your work by making sure it is 100% quality. This ain’t school work but it’s work that is just as important. Like I said in my first post about Pawnee City, our site supervisor believes in the quality of our work. You got to do a good job. Not just out of self-respect but for the people who hired you.
This past weekend, my team and I presented Yvonne with flowers and a card at the Methodist Church in front of the congregation. It was touching seeing the tears come to her eyes. And today, she surprised all of us by presenting us with a plaque with our names on it. It will hang up in the main office for everyone who comes after to know that we were there. It brought tears to her eyes also. It’s really heart felt just writing about it. I think I’m so reluctant to leave, not only because I left a mark here with my work, but because I’ve tried to integrate myself into the community for 6 weeks. And I’ve met a great bunch of people. And now, I’m just up and leaving, probably never to see all those smiling faces again. That’s what’s tough. Honestly, while I really enjoyed Sherman Lake and the staff who were there, I’ll be leaving Pawnee City with the same, if not heavier, heart. Two totally different experiences, but equally as rewarding. Much love to all those I met!
As for my next project.....I hope to leave the island with the same feelings. But who knows. It should all work itself out. After my 10 day break, I will be heading to Isle Royale, an island off of Lake Superior in Michigan. It is 15 minutes from the Canadian border. My team and I will be on the island for 6 weeks, working 10 days at a time. We are going to beautify trails BABY!!! I’m so looking forward to it. We will be camping for those 10 days with no access to running water. It will be an adventure. Not to mention, we will be living on an island that has the longest-running predator-prey experiment between moose and wolves. Moose and wolves. Need I say more? Sweet. While I’ve never gone camping before, I am so up for this experience. I definitely need it. Whoot whoot! Can’t wait! (Wow, I just changed emotions from sad to happy). That’s enough about Isle Royale for now.
I got one more night to spend in Pawnee City. And I got to soak it in.
-David
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