PART ONE "From what we get, we can make a living; what we give, however, makes a life." - Arthur Ashe

The title of this post is a quote that has recently become near and dear to my heart. As I mentioned in my profile, I'm on a journey to figure out who and what I want to be. One of the facets of this journey is discovering things that you are passionate about and that light a fire in you.

Some call these things crafts. Some call them hobbies. Some call them "things that fill downtime." I call them "things you really love."

I have been on the hunt for things that I can do that I really love...what am I passionate about? I gave scrapbooking a whirl for a little while. I enjoyed it, but it wasn't something that I was dying to do when 5:30 rolled around. I've been known to attempt crafts...I would love to become a big DIY'er (a Do-It-Yourself'er) someday, so that will be a "passion-in-progress."

Someone who has helped me on this journey to discover my passions is a man named Tom Gerdy. As you know, I don't typically drop real life names in this blog for security/anonymity purposes, but I think the world should know about this man - because he gets it..he gets what life is all about.

Tom is a general contractor by trade, but an inspiration after hours. Now, he wouldn't tell you that, but it's true. He gives of his time, his skill, and even monetarily to people and organizations that need him. He was even honored with a 'Man of the Year' award from the Children's Miracle Network. Yeah, like I said, he's awesome! :)

Anyways, I met Tom through a work project, in which we had him lead in a home-improvement project. It was a major project on a major time-crunch deadline, and you know how this guy inspired me? He taught me how to help in a field completely and utterly out of my comfort zone and never made me feel like I was a waste of his time, or in the way of his progress.

Along with Tom were his band of brothers, including Chuck and Larry...two others who had the same philosophy - teach them what to do and put them to work. The three of them, as well as many others from so many states in the USA, are part of a group called the Habitat Roadtrip Crazies, and they go all over the country helping Habitat For Humanity chapters that really need the help finishing homes. Many times, they help in what are known as "blitz builds," which are home constructions that happen over a weekend. Sometimes, they have enough volunteers to complete multiple homes in ONE WEEKEND. It really is a beautiful thing, and if you ever get the chance to check one out, or better yet HELP, do it. It'll change your life.

When Tom invited me to take part in a blitz build that they were doing in a town near my hometown, I said, "why not, let's do it!"

Sure, I was signing up to work my "real" job all week long (40 hours), and then report for duty Saturday morning at 8:30am, work until after 6pm, go to dinner, go home, go to sleep, wake up and report for duty Sunday morning at 8:30am and work until it was done - okay, in a nutshell, this would be my first 7-day work week in a long while. Crazy, right?

If you think that's crazy, stay tuned for Part Two.
Chicken Wing