Yesterday brought an early Christmas present for Ann Hoy, her youngest daughter, Dani, and her grandson, Aiden. They became the proud owners of the 273rd house constructed by Habitat for Humanity Tucson:
This occasion was marked by an official Habitat dedication, which included some really cool housewarming presents:
I first met Ann when she came out to work on her house, and help other Habitat families build their houses. (Habitat families are required to work 400 "sweat equity" hours if it’s a two-parent household, or 200 hours if it’s a one-parent household.)
This past July, Ann and I were part of a volunteer group that was assigned the job of sealing nail holes in a house that was about to be insulated. There were hundreds of nail holes, and we had to seal every one before the insulation contractor could come in. So, we turned it into a game and went on a nail hole hunt. Long story short: We won. The nail holes lost.
Then there’s that late September classic, the story of Ann and her new neighbor, Monica Pesqueria, when they were asked to load some recalcitrant ductwork into plastic bags. This task reminded Ann a little too much of her job (she works in a gastroenterology lab), which reduced her, Monica, and the rest of the volunteers to uncontrollable fits of laughter.
Fortunately, we all recovered by the time Coco the Chihauhua came to visit Ann, Dani, and the rest of us…
Coco also attended yesterday’s dedication, along with her owner, who was celebrating her 8th birthday.