So as most of you know, my city of Pensacola and the surrounding area just went through a massively destructive storm. As far as the flooding goes, it was worse than most hurricanes. We had over 26 inches of rain in 24 hours in some areas. Bridges and parts of roads are destroyed. Parking lots and cars underwater. Some businesses will be closed for months while they recover. Not my business.
My boss was out working hard Tuesday night (the night of the storm) and we've been beyond busy as a company since then. We have multiple work crews out at once and we're all working between 10 and 15 hours a day, every day. The guys I work with at Elite Services are stellar guys. They work hard and they don't cut corners.
We tend to mostly do carpet/tile and grout cleaning, but with this storm, I have found myself doing jobs far from my job description. Today I was assigned to an older couple's home ripping out soaked carpet that smelled like mold and cat pee with my hands (and a shovel when possible). After that, we started ripping up base boards and cutting through dry wall. I remember asking myself "why the heck is a carpet cleaning technician cutting through dry wall and pulling out soaked insulation right now?" And then something clicked with me. This is an awesome opportunity. The guy I am working with is a good friend and we get along great. I'm learning skills that are very useful and am getting an opportunity to be trained in something outside of my typical skill set and get paid for it. And the most important part. I am making a difference. It was delightful for me to come in and help this couple move forward from a devastating situation.
Yes, I've been working 10-12 hour days the past few days. Yes, I have to get up at 7:30 in the morning and go back to work and miss church because I'm working. But you know what? There is nothing like seeing a desperate need in somebody's life and throwing yourself into the situation to help. I am learning things along the way and I get the delight and the privilege to help these people. Yesterday, I was extracting water out of a small church and spent hours vacuuming up water in the hopes of having the place in good enough shape that they can have service there in the morning. Today I spent all afternoon with an older couple, their daughter, and their grand kids tearing out nasty carpet and cutting walls. We even had the kids help us with a few of the projects and I got to have some really cool teaching moments throughout the day that made me look forward to having kids of my own.
The past few days have been tough on all of us. And the work isn't going to be slowing down any time soon. I could be working these long hours for weeks. We won't talk about how many Ibuprofen I take a day just to keep going. It has been easy for me to wake up in the morning already tired and not wanting to be at work. But today I really had a moment of clarity where I got to count my blessings and consider myself lucky to be part of the relief effort here. I am making a difference in the lives of people who need help. My sister has her license and doesn't need me to drive her around, I'm graduated from college, and for the first time in a very long time I have open availability to work. This is not an opportunity to waste. And seeing the people's face and having them request I be the one who comes back the next day to finish the job because they liked me and appreciated me is a reward by itself.
Count your blessings. Perspective matters.
