Happy Thanksgiving Nov 23

Today is my last full day as manager at Gautier and it is rather bittersweet. This has been my life for 3 months and was a joy that I can't explain. It was a beautiful day with warmer temps in the 70's finally and sunshine. We had several groups working at homes today as they wanted to complete some of the projects they were working on. Some people did some touring of the Gulf coast. So my last offical duty was visiting the 4 job sites and bringing back a load of large tools as they had completed a roof this morning. They holler ahead of me when I enter the property "The boss is here" or today "The inspector is here". But they are pleased to see me visit them so they can show me what they have done.

Then we had several people who prepared the special dinner late this afternoon. We had turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, corn casserole, green bean casserole, fruit salad, cranberry sauce, relish tray, and 5 kinds of pie for dessert. Then I had invited 2 special guests to make an appearance this afternoon. They started 20 questions starting with President Bush, governor, etc. I had invited Mayor Pete Pope of Gautier to meet with the volunteers just before dinner as he always looks for opportunities to thank people for coming to MS to help with recovery. He had just been elected 1 month before Katrina hit so his parttime job became a lot more. I told him he didn't need to do any political speeches as none of us could vote for him but he thought I could claim residency with the length of time I've spent there. We had so much food left over that it was donated to "House of Grace" at VanCleve which is a shelter. The mayor had given us the name of 2 places where food would be accepted so it was a good day.


Then I also invited Mike and Claire Martin (landowner of the village) over so we could thank them for the use of the land. It was just exactly 1 year ago that they chose this spot to build the PDA village # 1 at Gautier. I gave them a card signed by someone from each group here in the village this week. Then I also gave them each a PDA t-shirt.

The Presbyterians Today Dec 2006 magazine had a poem in it from a Katrina survivor called "The Magi". 2 of the volunteers read it just before dinner as a tribute to me and tribute to the mayor of Gautier. It was very special. Then all the volunteers signed their names to the page which was then presented to me. These are life-long memories.


I will miss the interactions with the volunteers and the homeowners and hearing the stories they have to tell of their day. Someone asked me tonite "What will I do when I go home?" and I don't know somedays. There will be days of nothing and days with no reason to get up. After my full days here, it will be an adjustment and I will need sunshine to keep the depression away. I know I will need to plan for these days and getting ready for the holidays will help. But my mind will often still be in MS, wondering how things are going in the village, with some of the homeowners. It will be hard to let go as I have spent a couple of the best months of my life here this fall. I have new friends down here both in the church and the PDA staff who became like part of my family.

I need to finish packing my suitcases as I leave Fri late afternoon and arrive in Portland OR about midnight. Blessings to each of you as you read my story.

Phyllis