Back home

Well, I'm back home, and I wanted to make a brief conclusive post. The travel day was long but uneventful, and I got back in to Portland at 11:00 Tuesday night. I believe Brendan got back Wednesday, and Eric and Aaron return home tomorrow.

I was back at work at nine on Wednesday morning like nothing had changed. I won't lie--I'd been greatly looking forward to a burger and a hot shower, but the stress of playing catch-up after two and a half weeks away made me miss Leogane, and the simplicity of my life there. Eat, work, sleep. I see why people come to volunteer at All Hands, or any similar organization, and end up staying on indefinitely. It's hard and dirty work, but it's also straightforward, and solid. Clean, the way Lawrence of Arabia called the desert clean--vast and simple and clear.

Seeing Eric's recent post on the progress of the cemetery project made me wish I could have been more a part of it, and proud that I was a part of All Hands at all. Chris is staying in Leogane indefinitely, and I'm excited to have him as a continued conduit to the project--I'll work on convincing him to keep this blog updated. I want to again extend thanks to all of our generous donors for making this all possible, and I wish the best for everyone in 2011.

All my love,

Mike