By Meaghan Chapman
May 8, 2009

It was only mid-morning when I arrived at a Habitat for Humanity home in Bayside Park on Thursday and I was already feeling quite sleepy.

I'd been up since dawn covering an event for another story and, by this point, I was starting to feel a weight on my shoulders from the event-packed week I'd already made it through.

With my white blueberry tea in hand, though, I parked my car about a quarter-of-a-mile from the site, behind all the other cars, and I began my trek to the site on foot.

It appeared to be just like the dozen or so other Habitat events I'd covered for the newspaper — music streaming from a radio, people busily at work.

With my camera and notepad in tow, I usually ask the volunteers what motivates them to venture out of the air conditioning and into the hot, humid climate — to hammer, of all things.

I'd always admired those volunteers for rolling up their sleeves — the relentless sun beaming on their shoulders — and working with each other toward the common goal of making a stranger's life a bit better.

Thirty-five women, including myself, participated in Hancock County's Women Build; 7,000 women participated throughout the country. The women at our event included staff from Lowe's, local businesses and the Hancock Housing Resource Center, among others. When someone from Habitat handed me a paint roller and bucket, I instantly felt relieved — "I can do this," I thought. Though I would have done anything that needed to be done, I knew a task for myself involving a power tool may not have been the best idea for any of us.

While I was focusing on applying even coats of paint on the wall — apparently this is very important even if its only a primer — it occurred to me that I wasn't feeling so tired anymore. In fact, I think the positive energy from everyone around me had rubbed off.

After an hour or so, I took a break from the painting and looked around at the progress that was being made. I saw some women laughing as they worked, and others concentrating intensely — most appeared to be getting the hang of whatever they were working on.

I asked participant and Hancock County Supervisor Lisa Cowand how she was doing and she replied, "This is fun, I can do this all week."

I believed her because I knew what she meant.

Yes, it was hot outside and others, like me, probably haven't spent much time with paintbrushes and tools, but there was something really empowering about it.

When we all left that afternoon, some of us felt good because we'd tried something new and, I think, we all felt good because we had done our part that day.

I finally understood why all those volunteers from past interviews had smiles on their faces though they may have felt a bit of physical discomfort or had other things they knew they could be doing — it's because there really is no other feeling like the one you get after using your abilities to help someone else.

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