This year at WorkFest some of the long-term volunteers put on a skit about what it’s like to be a volunteer. We focused mainly on funny (but true) realities of volunteer life:

“Being a volunteer is having a year’s supply of expired Gatorade.”

“Being a volunteer is eating three lunches a day because you can’t say no to your elderly participants.”

“Being a volunteer is renaming the men’s room the MAN’s room because you’re the only guy in a house full of girls.”

“Being a volunteer is rush hour traffic stuck behind a tractor.”

“Being a volunteer is leaning over the railing of the back porch, extending your arm as far as it can go, and yelling into your cell phone to try to get reception.”

“Being a volunteer is waking up in the morning to discover that you’re wearing the same CAP shirt as someone else in the house.”

“Being a volunteer is having someone give you directions that sound like this: ‘Go down the road and take a left at the third barn. Then you’re going to go over a stone bridge and pass a tree that’s leaning over the road. When you pass the chickens turn right and go up the hill until you get to the old store, only it’s not a store anymore, and is just kind of a falling down barn…’”

What we didn’t talk about was the challenge and blessing we call a community. In the next 10 days two members of the Jackson Hood (what we call our house) will leave Kentucky. I knew this was coming – it’s what happens in a program where you commit to a year of volunteering: people leave when their year is up (well, most people anyway). But when you’re living in community, you have to forget that your housemates are only going to be with you a year. You have to commit to a relationship with them, even though you know you’ll eventually go your separate ways. I’ve been blessed with an amazing community this year. It hasn’t always been easy, but we’ve worked through our difficulties and come out stronger because of them. Last night one of my departing housemates came into the living room and asked “Why do people ever leave this place?” That’s a hard question to answer, and one that I apparently haven’t figured out yet (seeing as I’m not leaving), but I think that leaving is part of the experience and part of what makes volunteering with CAP so valuable. Sure, it’s a big step to leave your friends, family, and job to come to rural Kentucky and work for no money, but like anything else, once you’re here, it becomes comfortable. You meet wonderful people, you feel like you’re making a difference, and you’re supported in your faith by everyone that you live and work with. Real life isn’t like that, and I think that’s why we have to go back to real life. We all learn so many things through our service and our community, and if no one ever left, those lessons would never leave Kentucky. Part of our service is going back to where we came from and sharing our experience with others who will never have the chance to live and work here. Transitions have always been hard for me, and I’ve been thinking a lot lately about why that is. I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s the uncertainty of what’s next that I struggle with. I don’t know what my relationships are going to look like when I’m not living in the same house or city as someone. I don’t know if I’ll connect with the next group of volunteers. I don’t know what my life is going to be like when I eventually do leave CAP. There’s a lesson in that, too – a lesson about trust and about appreciating what’s happening right now without looking too far ahead. So as I say my “see-you-laters” (not goodbyes!), I’m trying very hard to focus on being grateful that these “see-you-laters” are so hard to say. It shows that I’ve had people in my life who I care about and who have helped me grow. And hey – now I’ll have somewhere to stay in Georgia and Wisconsin!

“Beginnings are usually scary and endings are usually sad, but it’s the middle that counts. You have to remember this when you find yourself at the beginning.” – Sandra Bullock

Erin C. is a long-term volunteer in Educational and Recreational Programming. She is a member of the Jackson Volunteer Community and she recently extended for another term of service.