Positives About Living in a Small Town

Before Thanksgiving, I was going a little crazy here. I didn't have cell phone service, I had to drive an hour to get to any store I'd want to go to, there wasn't anything nearby to do for fun, I didn't have any friends in the community that I could just go hang out with, it's a three hour drive to go visit my friends in Kentucky, and I lived in a school.

Now, I feel completely different about my small town lifestyle. I felt completely at home in Springfield and it was really nice to be around family and friends again, be able to communicate with others easier, and be within a fifteen minute drive of any store I could possibly want to go to. But, although I felt completely at home in Springfield, I was anxious to get back to West Virginia. You know the saying, "Distance makes the heart grow fonder?" Well, that saying holds true for me and my West Virginia home.

I was excited to get back here and not have cell phone service. It's annoying at times but it's provided me the opportunity to have a lot of pen pals, get to know my co-workers families when they call our center phone, and have more time to think about what I want to be doing once May comes and my contract is over.

I was also anxious to get back to my families here in West Virginia. I didn't realize until I left that I do have family here, too. I care about them and they care about me. It felt really nice to get back to my hardware store and hang out with them again. A definite positive about living in a small town-business owners know who I am and care about my well-being and also have the time to help me figure out what to buy when I'm stuck. I was also anxious to get back to my cooks. I don't have much of an opportunity to get really close with my morning cook because she's here from 5 am-8 am and I'm either on my hardware run from 6:30-8:30 or managing the volunteers from 7 am-9am when they leave for the worksites. But, I have gotten really close with my evening cook. She's here from 3 pm-7 pm most nights. My evening cook loves to gossip (small town style), makes me soup when I don't feel well, and got me a Christmas present. She's been a great person to talk to about my future after May. She's really supportive of us because she knows how demanding our job can be at times. It was really nice to get back to our cooks. I don't foresee many opportunities to have a similar relationship with someone I manage in the future.

Before Thanksgiving, I was really frustrated that I didn't have much to do on the weekends. This weekend, I was reminded of that when Friday afternoon rolled around and my co-worker looked at me and said, "So what are you going to do this weekend?" I literally had nothing on my schedule for this weekend. At home, that never happens...ever. What was I going to do? Turns out it was a great feeling to not have any plans for the weekend. It gave me an opportunity to relax, clean, take care of myself, talk with my mom and sister for more than ten minutes, take my time to write my pen pals back, and have some quality bonding time with my new staffer. It felt so nice to not have to rush around this weekend. I think that's definitely another positive of living in a small, isolated town.

Another positive about my small town-my church. At home, I haven't felt as much of a connection with a church as I do down here. There are so many people at my church and, at times, it just feels like I'm following a routine. Here, my church is so much different. Yesterday was the first time I went to church since before Thanksgiving. I work a lot of Sundays so it's really difficult to make it to church because the only service is at 11 am so by that time, I'm usually working. There are usually about fifteen to twenty people at each service so I've gotten to know them pretty well. When I woke up yesterday, I saw that it had snowed again so I didn't think church would be that crowded. When I pulled up to the parking lot, I saw two cars. I walked inside and one of my favorite parishioners was talking to the priest in the center of the aisle and one other woman was sitting in a pew. "Where have you been hiding?" That was the first thing I heard when I walked in. "In Pennsylvania," I told them. The priest and my favorite parishioner asked me about how my visit home was and how work was going. It's so nice to feel like I have family within my church, also. There were eight people at mass yesterday, including the priest. So, when it was time for the homily, the priest didn't do his normal routine of walking in the middle of the aisle. Instead, he came and sat in the pew in front of all of us and gave his homily there. Then, he did something that I never saw in church before. He said, "Well, that's what I think. What kind of thoughts do you have after those readings?" It was a nice change to be able to discuss during a homily. Then, when it was time to say the Our Father, the priest invited us all to the altar. We all made a circle, held hands, and said the prayer together (that part isn't new-we do that each week it's just that we usually do it in the middle of the aisle). After that, it was time for the peace offering. Every week at this church, instead of saying, "Peace be with you" and shaking the hand of the few people around you, everyone walks around and hugs everyone and says "Peace be with you, ____." They usually add something else in there also like "How's the hip?" or "Nice to see you again." It's very personal. After that, instead of going back to our seats, the priest said for us to stay where we were. We then passed the communion around to each other and wine. Then, the priest gave the final blessing. I can honestly say it was the most personal mass I've ever been to and I'm really grateful for it.

I'm no longer frustrated with living in a small, isolated town. It's certainly a lot different from home and it's kind of hard for me to wrap my head around the idea that I'm completely comfortable in Springfield and Brenton. Living down here also means more road trips. When everything is an hour away, it doesn't seem like a big deal to drive three hours. So, this weekend, one of my friends from the summer is volunteering in Jonesville, VA so I'm going to go to the food bank Friday morning and then drive to Virginia to see her. Next week, the three staffs are meeting in either Virginia or Kentucky and, if it snows, we're having a toboggan race (we have to build one this week). Should be a lot of fun.

Well, I'm off to visit some houses. There's a group coming in from Duquesne University in February and one of my community contacts asked me to help them find some projects to work on. I'm excited because there were certain families that I wanted to work for but the projects were too aesthetic. Since we're an emergency home repair ministry, it was hard for me to justify picking those homes but Duquesne can work for them!

Talk to you all later!

Latest Adventure

The girls and I got home late last night after our latest adventure. On Tuesday morning, we took a five-hour drive to Knoxville, TN. There, we met our friend, Sam (another staffer). She let us stay at her house for the night. We went to Knoxville for another episode of Extreme Makeover Home Addition. I know, I know, the show is going to be cancelled BUT they are gong to air the Knoxville episode at Thanksgiving 2012 and the NC episode Christmas 2012. 

On the way home from TN, Marika saw a sign for Dollywood and said she'd always wanted to go. We weren't in too much of a rush to get home so I took the exit and we explored a bit. We found out that Dollywood was closed but we found a replica of the Titanic, a Christmas village, and a few cheesy coal mining stores. It was a lot of fun to just explore and not be on a set schedule. 

In Guyan Valley news, we FINALLY finished cleaning our two story shed!! It looks great! I should post pictures when I get them. It has taken us since September to clean out the shed since it's been used for 15 years now and everything has accumulated and became disorganized but it was worth it to see the finished product. We definitely had a lot of staff bonding time getting the shed together which was great, too. 

My birthday was a good day. It was my first birthday away so I was a little nervous but it turned out great. I got a lot of birthday cards in the mail, birthday emails, and birthday facebook posts. My friend Sam also took us out to a hibacci place in Knoxville before Extreme Makeover Home Edition and then our CEO took us out to Waffle House at 12 am when we finished up and we had a cake that Sam made for me. Delicious! 

That's the update for now! 

What you been up to, Bub?

That's the first thing I heard when I got back in town and I knew I was back at my WV home. Instead of saying "Hi, how are you?" or "What's up?" like we do at my PA home, here most people start with "What you been up to?" or "What you been gettin' into?" I like it. Starting out a conversation this way can lead to pretty interesting conversation starters about what needs fixed (no one says "to be" here) or what they are fixin' for dinner or anything really.

I had a decent drive back. I left at 5:15 am and got here at 4:30 pm. I told my hardware store that I'd be in at 1 (they are who I'm supposed to check-in with here and they asked me to call them when I got back to PA). I hit three big sections of traffic then some snow and I also stopped in Winchester and went to a great GoodWill store and got a cute new candle holder that looks like a lamp for my new desk. When I got in, I checked our center out and then got to unpacking. I moved into the Center Director's room which means I now have a window and a dresser. Moving all of the mail I hung up on my wall in my old room to my new room was a great reminder about how much support I have from back home. I also switched my desk to the Center Director's desk which has better drawers than my other one did. It's the little things that make me happiest.

Today, it was back to work! We have volunteers coming in tomorrow at 3 pm. Before the volunteers arrive, I needed to sign a work agreement with two new families, write work orders for the crews coming in, go to the hardware store and get materials, get food for the volunteers to eat, make sure the cooks know the volunteers are coming, clean the center and the shed. There's a whole lot of preparation necessary to have a smooth volunteer visit. I'm pretty excited about this season. We're working for a new family that I really love. The little girl was practicing writing her name today and gave me the sample to hang up in my room. She's real sweet and I think the volunteers will love her.

We don't have too many crazy projects lined up yet. Three porches, underpinning on two trailers, a bathroom floor repair, painting, and putting in a new door. This week we only have four work crews but in March and April we could have eight at a time so we'll be sorting through our 300+ applications again soon to find more homes to work on.

I had a great time at my PA home but it was also nice to get back to my WV home. When I first moved here, I didn't know anyone so it was a bit overwhelming. Now, the ladies that work at the gas station, my facility manager, and our hardware store workers gave me a big welcome home. Carol, my friend from the post office would have I'm sure but she's in Wyoming. I found that out today when I went into the post office. I never bring my post office box key because Carol always just gives me my mail when I walk in then we talk for about ten minutes each day. Well there was some random guy in the post office today and when I told him I forgot my key, he made me show him my ID and then was only going to give me the mail that said "Jacqueline Glace" on it but, when I explained that no one's ID was going to say "Appalachia Service Project," he decided to give me everything in our box but told me he'd appreciate it if I didn't forget my key again. I definitely miss Carol.

I didn't miss anyone as much as I missed my hardware store owners and workers. I called them on my way home yesterday to make sure the roads were all right. They got about 5 inches over the weekend and I didn't know how icy the mountain roads were going to be. Melvin, one of the owners, had my call him when I got back home and today when I went in, he told me I should have slept at his house last night because he knew I was at the center alone. I think I'll take him up on the offer next time if I'm ever alone again because it's a bit scary at night staying in a big school by myself. I didn't have too big of a list for the hardware store but I ended up staying for two hours. This store is a whole lot different than Ace hardware or Home Depot or Lowe's back home. Here, when I go in, I sit on one of the small ladders, catch up with everyone for the first 15 minutes or so, then I tell them what I need, they help me load it all up, and then we usually sit by the fire and talk some more. Today's visit was 2 hours long. I missed them a whole lot. The two owners are Gail and Melvin and they live right next door to the store. The guy that helps me load up everyday is Rambo or Destry. Then there's Charles who helps out at the store a lot. They all look out for me which is comforting. One day there was a miner looking at me in a way that I didn't want him to and Charles glared at him, stepped between the two of us, and said "Don't you be lookin' at my woman." Today, when we were loading concrete, I told Rambo how I heard a strange noise today and was nervous about it, he said he'd talk to the Sheriff and have him and his guys drive by and check out our center late at night from now on because "no one's gonna be hurtin' my woman." I'd probably be really angry, no, I'd definitely be really angry if someone at home referred to me as "their woman" but here, it's a lot different. I know they're doing it out of kindness and just being protective of me. I certainly appreciate it because I need locals looking after me.

Well, it's time for me to get back to work! I'm happy to be back and have a busy schedule again and to not have cell service. I found I don't like being on-call as much as I thought I did. In a few months, I may not say I like not having cell service but it's definitely nice to have a break.

Love and miss everyone!