Update!

Check out the photos added to "House Party"--they increase the post's cuteness 100-fold.

Also, take a look at the marathon post--nothin' like a sweaty marathoner!

Finally, as a year-end treat, here is a photo montage of the past nine months on the Coast. Enjoy!

I single-handedly hold up the state welcome sign on my first trip to Alabama.

Dormant Mardi Gras float in Ocean Springs awaiting 2008's festivities (in which I will FINALLY get to participate!!)

Leah & Dal in The FEMA Hilton (aka my house before it was finished)

The Hair Cut!!! SOOO short!!

Can you say line-dancing? With awful posture no less...

Leah accompanies Kate's interpretation of "Old Latin ballroom dancer woos unsuspecting young thing whilst kneeling in a Mash t-shirt" (performance art on our front porch)

Horseshoe crab on the Carolina shore during Thanksgiving--thanks Dad!

My Sistah et Moi tickling the ivories at our Grandma's over Christmas

A Merry 2008 to all and to all a GOOD NIGHT.

Last but not Least

Although this weekend was my last here at the Mish, it many ways it was similar to all the others I’ve spent here. I woke up at 7 this morning to see off the volunteers who have toiled all week to bring Gulf Coast families that much closer to reclaiming their homes. This week’s group, from Pennsylvania Dutch country, had left behind bags of gently used work clothes and sleeping bags, which I hauled over to the food pantry at the office. Then at 7:45 a friend picked me up and we drove to a nearby Habitat for Humanity site, where we spent the morning installing windows and nailing down tar paper alongside the soon-to-be homeowner Miss Laverna and her granddaughters. Picture all of us humming along to Christmas carols on the radio as we sweat in the 75 degree, 90% humidity air—utterly disorienting for a native Midwesterner!

At noon I headed back home for leftovers from last night’s staff Christmas dinner, then spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning the house for the long-term volunteers who will replace me in January. As I write this, I am dog-sitting for some Floridians stationed at the local Air Force base; tonight we’ll all get together for some more good food and a few games of bean-bag toss, an Ohio favorite imported to the Coast by volunteers from Cincinnati. Tomorrow morning will find me worshipping at an Episcopal church, since there are no UCC congregations down here, and after church I’ll head back to the office to help put together Christmas baskets for our clients. Then I’ll try to catch a few hours of the Bears game and work on some lesson prep for the ESL class I teach to local Spanish-speakers—part of my new job helping to open a Latino community center next year—before welcoming this coming week’s group of volunteers from Texas.

Looking back on these past 9 months, I realize how often I’ve been swept away by the enthusiasm and grace volunteers bring to their work; how much I’ve learned about client casework and the realities of low-income and homeless living; how surprised I’ve been by the peculiarities of, and my own preconceptions about, the South—and most of all, how much I’ve learned about faith. Thinking about the moments of transformation I’ve witnessed—when a client’s needs are met beyond all their expectations, or when tears well up in a volunteer’s eyes as he or she reflects on a week of service—I can’t help but know that God is here laboring through the hands and hearts of our staff and volunteers, and working in the hearts and minds of our clients, homeowners, and local community members as well. It has been an absolute joy and privilege for me to be a part of this, and I will miss it deeply.
Your prayers and good wishes for the people of the Gulf Coast over the holiday season and into a new year filled with uncertainty—and hope—are truly appreciated.

Wishing you a Christmas of joy and a year of rebirth and rebuilding in the new Christ Child (after all, Jesus was a carpenter!),
Leah

She Did It, Folks!

As some of you may know, I have been training for a marathon for the last, oh, eternity...I mean, 6 months. Last Saturday, in Huntsville, AL, I ran it.

Before: After:

My roommate and my mom don't think I look any worse for wear... but let me tell you, it took 3 days of recovery just to be able to walk without bowing my legs out like a pregnant lady (thanks to The Sister for that image). It became a very serious game to avoid the slightest unnecessary use of any and all affected muscles--like Hot Lava, but painful. Ouch.

It was, of course, totally worth it--and although around mile 18 I was yelling "This SUCKS!!" to innocent bystanders and grouching at my sister* to meet me with SOME kind of sustenance at the next aid station, 30 minutes after the race was over I began planning when I would be able to do another marathon and strategizing about how to trim down my time. Given the lamentable state of my joints post-race, however, I think I'll stick to half-marathons and 10Ks from now on.

Interesting Marathon Factoids:

-The guy who ran the first marathon back in ancient Greece ran only 24 miles, and then dropped dead. When they held the first modern marathon in the 19th century, the sadistic Brits added the last 2.2 miles we now know and love (aka THE worst part of the race, where you want nothing more than to STOP. RUNNING. NOW. NOW!!!!). The reason? They wanted to end at a nice little castle in the area, which happened to be 26.2 miles from the start instead of the original 24. Stupid Brits.

-Best running outfit: Mr. Incredible (a runner dressed as the movie character in spandex and mask and gloves--really!)

-Best marathon t-shirt slogan: "18 weeks ago I thought this was a good idea."

-Best bystander: blonde woman in a dirndl playing "You Are My Sunshine" and 80s rock anthems on an accordion, on roller skates. I kid you not.

Training for the race helped me realize that I have a stubborn (masochistic?) streak that pushes me to finish my given mileage no matter how hard it is or how much I think I can't do it--this is empowering, but not if it makes you almost collapse during mile 7 of a training run when it's 85 degrees out and 90% humidity and you're scouring the sidewalk for change so you can buy an orange at the grocery store on your route because you forgot to eat something halfway through your run.

Therefore, I also learned how to take care of my body during training and how to establish a training rhythm, which is a very satisfying process. Conditioning your body to do something insane shows you just how incredible these fleshly vessels are. And the calf muscle defintion--good heavens!!!

After the race I was on a constant emotional high for the next week. (Omnipresent Christmas chocolate may also have contributed to this state of euphoria.) What a cool unexpected perk of nearly running yourself to death!

*Special thanks, ETERNAL sisterly thanks, go to my Wonderful Sister, without whose diligent and enthusiastic presence at every other aid station with food, drinks, encouragement, and concern, I .simply. would not have made it. She is an incredible person and I cannot imagine anyone else with whom I would rather have shared this experience. It was a team effort!!