All of the construction sons had showed up to re- shingle Sam and Simmy's roof. It was the biggest work project they'd ever asked their sons to contribute to.
There was a lot of groaning at the end of day two... muscles were sore, Sams' feet felt severely misshapen from standing on a sloped roof for twelve hours.
All of the main roof had been finished the evening before with comments such as... "We're never doing this again! Now we know why the quote was $8,000.00, I hate shingling!"
And... those were only the comments from the sons...
The kitchen worker said things like... "In two days, I've cooked as much as I usually do in three weeks."
One son had recently purchased a house, and the other two had goals of the same so... Simmy, being the person she was, thought, "Great opportunity for everyone to learn what it's like to be a proud homeowner!"
... On this bright and sunshiny Monday, Simmy was planning to remove all the nails from the old shingles so they would be ready to take to the recycling depot later in the week but... she just thought she'd see if the website gave any instructions on how loads could be received, et cetera.
The asphalt shingle recycling depot had the question, 'What determines a 'clean load?' right on the home page and Simmy yipped with delight when she read the answer...
- shingles
- felt
- nails
"Hallelujah!"
That was one huge job she could take off her list of duties this week. She didn't have to remove all the nails from the old shingles.
She was so relieved!
As she and Sam had a homemade cinnamon bun breakfast, Simmy said, "Well, one thing we know for sure."
Sam cocked his eyebrows in query, cinnamon bun taking priority over talking.
"Every one of us will have great respect for roofing guys now. That is always one of the 'possible ripple effects' from doing something yourself, at least once, so you know firsthand how much work something is.
http://romancedesigner.blogspot.com/2010/04/learning-from-unexpected-places.html
"So, it took approximately 120 man/ woman hours... and counting... to get the job done," Simmy said, "considering all things equal."
What was gained?
All the workers got delicious homemade meals.
Comradery while working... see previous blog of laughing worker.
Grocery shopping was done to take the strain off one family later in the week.
Experience for everyone in the area of learning for the gain of knowledge... theirs to keep forever and use how they see fit.
Greeting cards were produced to save money for two families... and fun was had by the designers while the work was produced.
There was a sharing of supplies during the card- making sessions.
Neighbors got a warm rhubarb cobbler dessert because an extra large one was made to serve all the workers.
A church got a volunteer worker on Sunday morning.
What was lost?
Someone gave up golfing with a friend.
Another person gave up fishing with a friend.
Another person accepted the schedule of whatever was happening and went with the flow, not knowing if her needs of being able to volunteer and get groceries would even be met.
Someone couldn't write her novel for a few days.
Someone couldn't relax for this long weekend, even though his body was begging for a bit of rest instead of more days of hard labour.
All around, Labour Day turned into days of labour...
a huge thank you to each volunteer who gave of his or her time to help make this happen.
We love you!
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