Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Things I learned today at church
First, let me back up a couple of days. Last Wednesday, I went to the park with my new little friend Reagan and her mom, Summer. We met another ward member and her two daughters at the park. It was nice to visit and get to know some of the little people in the ward. Amber brought her 4 year old Reese and the two year old Eliza. Amber also has two kids in elementary school and is expecting another. They are really nice and I'm excited for new friends.
So, when we got the church today, Brian and I sat in the row behind Amber and her cute family. The kids got out the markers and started coloring. Their dad is working on his masters degree in art, and the kids obviously take after their dad in that respect. So, Reese got to work drawing and coloring a very bright butterfly. Her older brother, who is probably about 7, got to work on his stuff. It was his wonderful artwork that taught me invaluable lessons today at church.
Lesson 1: When planning to catch Santa Clause, the first and best option is to set up a lasso around the plate of cookies.
Lesson 2: When building your dream house, make sure the chimney should actually be a cannon and the edge of the roof should be lined with chainsaws.
Lesson 3 (and probably the most important): Never leave your chainsaw on.
I wish that I had the images that he included as he carefully planned for the near and distant future. I'll have to ask Amber if she'll let me borrow the pages to scan.
So, when we got the church today, Brian and I sat in the row behind Amber and her cute family. The kids got out the markers and started coloring. Their dad is working on his masters degree in art, and the kids obviously take after their dad in that respect. So, Reese got to work drawing and coloring a very bright butterfly. Her older brother, who is probably about 7, got to work on his stuff. It was his wonderful artwork that taught me invaluable lessons today at church.
Lesson 1: When planning to catch Santa Clause, the first and best option is to set up a lasso around the plate of cookies.
Lesson 2: When building your dream house, make sure the chimney should actually be a cannon and the edge of the roof should be lined with chainsaws.
Lesson 3 (and probably the most important): Never leave your chainsaw on.
I wish that I had the images that he included as he carefully planned for the near and distant future. I'll have to ask Amber if she'll let me borrow the pages to scan.
Friday, November 12, 2010
Lessons Learned
So, I had quite an unusual experience today. Well, I think it's unusual. I suppose that for some people it would be normal or routine. For those people, I have supreme respect.
I got a phone call and email last night from the relief society president, Sister Wren. She asked if I could help a ward member and her daughter in preparing to move out of their house to another place close by. I thought the request slightly unusual, but as more information was made available to me, I understood why it was being handled the way it was. The woman lives in a home that has come under some disrepair. She lives with her 18 year old daughter who has Asperger's syndrome. Over the last several years, their lives have gotten somewhat out of control, and I was asked to help them pack boxes so they could move out of the house tomorrow morning. I was warned that while things were much better than when the project started about a week ago, there was still a lot to do. And to be prepared because these two women are hoarders. And, they have a bug problem.
Initially, my thought was that I'd like to help, but I don't do bugs. Especially the bugs out here, cause they tend to be on the HUGE side. I told Brian of the request, and he said he'd support my decision to go, but that he couldn't do it. He hates bugs. HATES them. I called Sister Wren and talked through it with her and told her I would be happy to help. The plan was to be there at around 10:00 AM.
I got up this morning and threw on some scrubs. I grabbed my trusty housecleaning gloves, put the address in the GPS and I was off! Upon arriving at the home in Watkinsville, what I expected was more than what I found, which was a relief. I was told that it was 100 times better today than it was when they started. This time last week, you couldn't see the floors or the walls. There was still a significant amount of clutter, but there was room to work. I was shown around by the daughter and started preparing boxes to fill. A fellow ward member arrived and she set to work packing up bakeware and whatnot in the kitchen. I opted to attack the pantry. With my back injury, I can't lift much, so I would fill the boxes and someone would take them off the shelf and tape them up and label them. It was a decent system. I think I felt I could handle the pantry because it was a confined space with an end in sight. I felt like I could accomplish something if I could get all the food packed. When I was done, there were just some 2 liter bottles of soda and a few small appliances left in the pantry.
Now, the bugs. Here's the thing. Georgia has lots of bugs. Lots and lots of bugs. I didn't happen to see any living roaches that are the huge variety, but there were several different looking ones. Now, I don't know if they were all the same kind, just at different stages of life or if they were different kinds. Frankly, I don't want to know that much about roaches. I threw away any food that was open. And anything that might be contaminated. Most of the pantry goods were in cans, so that's a good thing. The cans will need to be cleaned off before opening though, that's for sure. I completed my task in an orderly fashion. When they say that roaches stay out of the light, they aren't kidding. I have been lucky enough to not have to deal with any sort of problem like that. (Thank heaven!) I would take all the cans on the first row, then move to the second and so on. This gave the roaches time to run to the back of the shelf. I have never seen anything like that in my life.
Upon talking with the woman, I learned how bad things have become. She had a piano she was given for her 15th birthday. When they opened the back to check it, the entire inside was covered in roach eggs. The situation was the same for her organ. Both went directly into the dumpster. Most pieces of furniture were being thrown out. They threw out two televisions and a couple of stereo systems, the microwave and many other small appliances. Her mattress was infested, but she had still be sleeping on it, because she has nothing else as of yet. No one had attempted to clean out her "office" because she knew that the roaches were particularly bad in that room. The garage was a giant pile, literally. Standing on ground level, the pile climbs much higher than my head, and I'm five foot eleven inches.
I'm grateful that both women were somewhat willing to let us throw things out as we went. I understand that it could have been a much more difficult process, if one or both of them wanted to see every item that was being removed. It was hard to see that people live that way, and that the food that I was carefully removing from the pantry, as the roaches held on for dear life, was the source of food for them. Part of me wanted to leave everything inside, close the doors and light a match. That would probably have been the healthiest option. But, that is not life.
So, I am grateful that I have a clean home, and a husband who helps me keep it that way. I am grateful for my health, even though I feel crappy sometimes - I am better off than many. I am grateful for the opportunity to help these women move out of their situation and I pray that they will be better prepared in their next home, and that they can live differently from now on. I feel that I have made friends, not just with those I was able to serve today, but with those that served with me.
And the roaches that I OCCASIONALLY see in my home . . . . they are no big deal.
I got a phone call and email last night from the relief society president, Sister Wren. She asked if I could help a ward member and her daughter in preparing to move out of their house to another place close by. I thought the request slightly unusual, but as more information was made available to me, I understood why it was being handled the way it was. The woman lives in a home that has come under some disrepair. She lives with her 18 year old daughter who has Asperger's syndrome. Over the last several years, their lives have gotten somewhat out of control, and I was asked to help them pack boxes so they could move out of the house tomorrow morning. I was warned that while things were much better than when the project started about a week ago, there was still a lot to do. And to be prepared because these two women are hoarders. And, they have a bug problem.
Initially, my thought was that I'd like to help, but I don't do bugs. Especially the bugs out here, cause they tend to be on the HUGE side. I told Brian of the request, and he said he'd support my decision to go, but that he couldn't do it. He hates bugs. HATES them. I called Sister Wren and talked through it with her and told her I would be happy to help. The plan was to be there at around 10:00 AM.
I got up this morning and threw on some scrubs. I grabbed my trusty housecleaning gloves, put the address in the GPS and I was off! Upon arriving at the home in Watkinsville, what I expected was more than what I found, which was a relief. I was told that it was 100 times better today than it was when they started. This time last week, you couldn't see the floors or the walls. There was still a significant amount of clutter, but there was room to work. I was shown around by the daughter and started preparing boxes to fill. A fellow ward member arrived and she set to work packing up bakeware and whatnot in the kitchen. I opted to attack the pantry. With my back injury, I can't lift much, so I would fill the boxes and someone would take them off the shelf and tape them up and label them. It was a decent system. I think I felt I could handle the pantry because it was a confined space with an end in sight. I felt like I could accomplish something if I could get all the food packed. When I was done, there were just some 2 liter bottles of soda and a few small appliances left in the pantry.
Now, the bugs. Here's the thing. Georgia has lots of bugs. Lots and lots of bugs. I didn't happen to see any living roaches that are the huge variety, but there were several different looking ones. Now, I don't know if they were all the same kind, just at different stages of life or if they were different kinds. Frankly, I don't want to know that much about roaches. I threw away any food that was open. And anything that might be contaminated. Most of the pantry goods were in cans, so that's a good thing. The cans will need to be cleaned off before opening though, that's for sure. I completed my task in an orderly fashion. When they say that roaches stay out of the light, they aren't kidding. I have been lucky enough to not have to deal with any sort of problem like that. (Thank heaven!) I would take all the cans on the first row, then move to the second and so on. This gave the roaches time to run to the back of the shelf. I have never seen anything like that in my life.
Upon talking with the woman, I learned how bad things have become. She had a piano she was given for her 15th birthday. When they opened the back to check it, the entire inside was covered in roach eggs. The situation was the same for her organ. Both went directly into the dumpster. Most pieces of furniture were being thrown out. They threw out two televisions and a couple of stereo systems, the microwave and many other small appliances. Her mattress was infested, but she had still be sleeping on it, because she has nothing else as of yet. No one had attempted to clean out her "office" because she knew that the roaches were particularly bad in that room. The garage was a giant pile, literally. Standing on ground level, the pile climbs much higher than my head, and I'm five foot eleven inches.
I'm grateful that both women were somewhat willing to let us throw things out as we went. I understand that it could have been a much more difficult process, if one or both of them wanted to see every item that was being removed. It was hard to see that people live that way, and that the food that I was carefully removing from the pantry, as the roaches held on for dear life, was the source of food for them. Part of me wanted to leave everything inside, close the doors and light a match. That would probably have been the healthiest option. But, that is not life.
So, I am grateful that I have a clean home, and a husband who helps me keep it that way. I am grateful for my health, even though I feel crappy sometimes - I am better off than many. I am grateful for the opportunity to help these women move out of their situation and I pray that they will be better prepared in their next home, and that they can live differently from now on. I feel that I have made friends, not just with those I was able to serve today, but with those that served with me.
And the roaches that I OCCASIONALLY see in my home . . . . they are no big deal.
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