Why I Miss All of Grandpa's Phone Calls

Although sometimes I think he doesn't believe me, it's because I'm busy. Really busy.

Of course, there's work. We leave for work at 7:30 a.m. each morning and get home around 5:00. After work there's various things we have to get done.

PT: Three times a week we have to work out. Two of those are group PT and one is individual. We might play basketball or soccer, or do circuit training or an Insanity DVD. This lasts about an hour.

Laundry: We don't have laundry facilities at the camp, so we have to make a trip to the laundromat once a week. This usually eats up about 3 hours of our day.

Team Meetings: We have those once a week, but usually have them at the laundromat while our clothes are washing.

Grocery Shopping: I'm a Food POC along with 2 others on the team, so it's our job to make sure we're stocked up on groceries. We usually make Wal-Mart runs about twice a week. Since we're buying about $150 worth of groceries for 9 people with different tastes on a tight budget, these shopping trips usually take a while, too. And then there's the unloading labeling of food (we share a kitchen with 4 other FEMA Corps teams).

Cooking: Someone has to cook for everyone each night. Here, we're only equipped with a microwave, a grill or a propane burner, so this can take longer than usual as well.

Recruiting Events: I'm a CAPper (Corps Ambassador Program) which means I go to colleges, high schools, etc to recruit people to apply for AmeriCorps NCCC. We only do that every 2 weeks or so, so it doesn't take too much of my time in the evenings.

Cleaning: We have a rotating schedule for cleaning our bathroom and kitchen.

So basically, the weeks are jam packed. By the time you get done doing all your stuff and eating dinner, you have to make your lunch to pack for the next day, and it's probably about 10:00. It doesn't leave much time to do things like reading, skyping, watching netflix, or answering grandpa's phone calls.

However, I shouldn't complain, because this is nothing compared to what the Vinton and Vicksburg teams experienced when they were working Superstorm Sandy. From what they told us they didn't have to choose between sleeping or catching up on Mad Men when they got home. They had to choose between showering or eating supper, because they were too exhausted to do both.

And the National Weather Service says this is going to be a particularly active year for hurricanes, so I think busier times are in store for us.