Extreme Makeover

Sorry for the long silence here, but we’ve been very busy since Robert’s return. We have a service trip from Champlain College coming on Thursday night and just one week ago our new house that they’ll be staying in was empty and ugly. Now it’s painted, inside and out, in bright colors; Fran and Evan are nearly finished making and assembling 5 bunk beds plus a big table with benches; Evan and I have painted almost every piece of furniture; Uncle Tony and his workers from the farm have secured the wall around the property and fixed up the back yard; and we’ll be ready to move the group of 11 into the house in just 2 days. On top of this mini Extreme Makeover Home Edition, we’ve been trying to get all the kids to finish their school packets before Thursday since they’ll just want to play all day with the new volunteers. I’ve also been preparing for Conor to arrive next Monday night and I couldn’t be more excited. My mom’s been organizing some donations for him to bring over – big thanks to Ellen Munger, Kathy Twitchell, Diana Potter, Judy Nagle, Meg O’Connell, and several others who have offered up some great toys/games/books/puzzles for the kids!

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it yet, but Evan and I are cutting our stay short by a few weeks because he was accepted to Teach for America and has to be back in the States at the beginning of June. He’s heading down to Arkansas to teach in a KIPP elementary school and, after spending the summer in Norton, I’ll be joining him down south. We’re both really excited, but it will be hard to leave here in just 3 weeks. We can feel each day slipping away, especially since it’s been so busy lately, but there’s still a lot of time to enjoy the life we’ve made for ourselves here. And since Evan will be teaching, and hopefully I can find a job in a school as well, we will be able to return next summer for at least a few weeks. It will be incredibly hard to leave here, but that would have been true regardless of the timing. But coming home early means that I get to see my family sooner, spend a whole summer living with my brother again, visit Vermont frequently, and go to my high school reunion in June. So it will be a bittersweet goodbye, but also the beginning of a whole new adventure.

Thanks for following me on this journey and for playing a part in this unbelievable experience. Stay tuned for some posts about the fun things we’ll be doing with all our new volunteers next week!