A Serving Spirit

My independent study is with Rebuilding Together Philadelphia this semester. We go into older adults' homes and make any modifications necessary to make it safer and accessible.

Today was the day that we completed any home modifications needed. We got these really cool t-shirts and I was excited. The morning started off horribly. I woke up smiling to the sun shining in my face until I realized that I only had about forty five minutes to get showered and dressed before I missed the bus. My car has been acting up these past few weeks and I'm actually scared to drive for fear it will break down on the expressway. I finally made it to the bus stop to catch the 8:49 only to realize it was 8:51. I was convinced that I missed the bus. After frantically calling my fiance, we realized I had the bus schedule wrong; it was coming at 9:05.

9:05..9:10...9:19...Where the hell is the damn bus? I have to be at school by 10 and you just never how traffic will be. On top of this, only one of my earphones is working on my MP3 player, so all the sound is hitting one eardrum. On top of that, I'm starving because I rushed out of my damn apartment without grabbing anything. The bus finally rolls in around 9:30 something and off we went.

I'm pissed on the bus but I pray that God give me a spirit of servitude so that I can give off a humble  and giving spirit to the homeowers today.  

2 hours go by and we have painted his basement steps, installed a new shelving system, installed a CO detector, new portable phones, secured the loose carpets in the house. I also spent a good deal of time showing the homeowner how to get in and out of his tub safely by using the newly installed grab bars, shower chair, and tub bench.

The highlight of my day was when he walked into the bathroom and his face lit up at the sight of his new bathroom equipment. He was like a kid on Christmas. He kept thanking us and it really warmed my heart. It almost made sweeping up mouse droppings worthwhile. Almost. 

Of course getting home on the bus was a pain in my ass as it was late AGAIN...By the time it finally came, it was so full I was standing buttcheek to buttcheck with the guy next to me. I had a raging headache when I finally got home. It may have been caused by the lack of food in my system...but I was able to help make a difference in someone's life. I did something meaningful and it felt good.