Spring is on it's way!

As I sit here writing this, I can’t help but think, where’d the last 7 weeks go?! It’s been 7 weeks! Wow, time sure flies these days. It’s absolutely crazy! Obviously with so much time gone by since my last post I won’t get to tell you everything that has been going on, but I’ll try my best to remember all the highlights.

For the rest of February there wasn’t too much going on, a few Cyclones games, and we of course tried to watch some of the Olympics. Usually only caught the highlights in the evening, even then we didn’t really bother with those since we already knew the results of the day thanks to social media.  I did get Aaron up early one morning to watch the Canada vs. Great Britain women’s curling match, caught the last couple ends in the game. He had been telling people that he had never seen curling, and it seemed to be what some people were talking about around here, so I made sure he had a chance to watch.  The highlight for me was actually being able to watch the men’s hockey game between Canada and the US. I had classes that morning until 11, and that gave me enough time to go to Head First Sports Bar in downtown Cincinnati to meet Aaron and a couple friends for lunch. While they would all head back to work I would finish watching the game. At least they got to see Canada score the first and only goal!!! I have to admit that there were many moments where I was so antsy in my seat and I’d try not to yell out at the tv when I wanted the guys to shoot the puck, but I couldn’t help myself. There were some interesting looks from the 8 or 9 people in the bar that afternoon. Definitely an interesting experience and was so happy to see Canada win, as I am sure that if the US won, I would seriously never heard the end of it. You see, us Canadians, we are proud, but we definitely don’t like to show off all that much. Every now and then I do like to remind Aaron that we did win the gold medal.

Next big thing was Spring Break, March 8-16^th. I have to say that I had the best Spring Break of all time! Not only did I get to go and help build two houses with Habitat for Humanity in Crestview, Florida, about 45 minutes from Fort Walton Beach, but I made some pretty great friendships with a lot of the other students who went on the trip. There were 21 students and 4 chaperones who went on the trip, and I was one of those chaperones. Before I had even come down here to go to school I had heard many stories about the Habitat for Humanity trip from Aaron and I knew that it would be something that I would love to do. As the weeks went by, I began to get a little more nervous about going on the trip. Some might wonder why or how that could even be possible for me, but I think because I had the responsibility of being a chaperone, didn’t know what to expect, and didn’t really know anyone going on the trip, I didn’t want to screw things up. The last week of classes before break was filled with a paper and 3 tests, so I was occupied with all that and didn’t have time to really think about the trip. When Friday, March 7th at 11am arrived, I had the biggest smile on my face and was ready for this trip! Classes were officially over for me and I had a week off with no worry of any homework.

We left Thomas More around noon on the Saturday, and we made our way to Birmingham, Alabama. After having dinner at Dreamland BBQ some of us went to Figaro’s Mexican Bar for some drinks. The next morning we were on the road to Fort Walton Beach after we had some breakfast at Waffle House. We arrived in Fort Walton at St. Simon’s Church around 4pm. There was a gathering of people at the church from Habitat for Humanity and the local youth group.  As well, we had the opportunity to meet a couple of the current and future home recipients.  I could not help but think that I could not be more proud to be there at that moment in time knowing what we would be doing as a group that week for these people.  I had been told by a couple people before going on the trip that it would be life changing, and an opportunity one would not want to miss out on, and they are right.  I definitely understand why so many people continue to do it each year.  The whole week was something that I will never forget, and I definitely am looking forward to next year already! I have been telling a lot of people about my experiences and am trying to recruit people for next year, as some of those who were with us this year will be graduating in May and will not be able to attend.

The welcome dinner at the church that night was fantastic, and the company in the room that night was even better!  Sitting at my table were Morgan and Mackenzie from the youth group, and it was great to talk to them about their aspirations and hear what it is that they hope to do when they get out of high school.  Mackenzie’s mom was at the table with us as well, and it was great to hear from her on what she wanted the youth group members to get out of meeting us college kids.  For the youth group to have an opportunity such as this, it made me wish that I would have had the chance to do something like that when I was their age.

Monday morning we loaded into the vans and made our way to the one worksite. One of the greatest things about the whole week was being able to see how much progress was made each day at the worksites.  To think that we started out with a couple of slabs of concrete, and within 5 days were able to have outer walls framed and up, sheaving up, rooms framed out, and trusses up, was such a great feeling.  It is crazy to think and believe that 21 students, 4 chaperones and all the men and women from habitat were able to do so much in just 5 days.  Too bad we couldn’t have done more to help out.  On the worksite, Marisa and I seemed to work mostly with Jerry the first couple of days, and by the middle of the week he was making sure that we were around, and he was giving us things to do. Since both of us do not have any surviving grandparents, and he was so extremely helpful, we both adopted him as our grandpa. He totally didn’t mind either. By the last day, they had split us up for a second time so that some could go work on the 2^nd site, but Jerry made sure to keep Marisa and I around the first house.  He had us finish up building the last main wall in the house, and we were able to help get the trusses up.

Another thing, I have to mention is the fantastic hospitality from St. Simon’s Church and Habitat.  The church allowed us to stay there, they brought in cots for everyone and we had a small kitchen to use, along with some food provided.  All our meals were pretty much covered either from Habitat or local restaurants (Helen Back, Hooters and Firehouse Subs). And two of our meals were with Bill & Jeannette, and Bob & Mary at their amazing homes.  Jeannette made an amazing pulled pork with macaroni and cheese and a bunch of other salads.  Mary made a fantastic pasta, with some fruit and veggies, salad, and a very large spread of desserts. Chelsea raved about this strawberry cake all week hoping that Mary would make it, and she did, it was so good!!  Being able to spend time with everyone outside of the worksite was amazing, it gave everyone to get a chance to bond more.  I really enjoyed speaking with Bob the one night about Habitat and the process people have to go through to get a home. As well, the conversation I had with Bill & Jeannette one night about their life together.  It was really fascinating and I just love hearing such great stories.

The last thing I want to mention about the whole trip is that I made some pretty good friendships with those who went. Some I had maybe seen around the campus, or had in a couple of my classes last semester but being able to spend a week together was a really great bonding experience. Marisa and I got along really well, and seemed to hit it off right from the start. She reminds me a lot of my sister, I haven’t told her that, but since she is hopefully reading my blog, she will know now. Maybe it’s because she isn’t much different in age from my sister Allison, but she’s full of life and a great person to be around.  Aaron and I took her to her first hockey game last Friday night, and she says that she enjoyed it. Perhaps she will come out to another game with us before the season comes to an end.  She’s on the Thomas More volleyball team, which I am excited about, so I will be trying to go to a lot of the games in the fall.

This weekend is all kind of up in the air, we are off to a fish-fry tonight, and then hopefully the NCAA Hockey game that is taking place.  If you haven’t heard of a fish-fry before, they are pretty awesome. I don’t believe anywhere at home does them, at least not that I know of. Given the large Catholic presence around here, for Lent, different churches, schools, legions, fire departments, etc. put on a fish-fry each Friday evening. Simply put, you just go there and eat fish or in the case of the one next week that we will be going to, they have frog legs in addition to the fish. Some have grilled cheese sandwiches or cheese pizza for those who don’t like fish, and then they have sides like mac & cheese, coleslaw, green beans or hush puppies. They are a great time, and ADG does a travelling fish-fry, so every Friday we go to a different one, and we even get shirts made to wear each week.  Tomorrow evening is the kick-off to a mid-semester rush for ADG, and we have events going on every night next week. Looking forward to those and hopefully we can get a few more guys to join. Sunday is an early birthday dinner for me with Aaron's dad and step-mom. Have a great weekend!!!

P.S. Only 6 more weeks of school!!