Tic tac toe

It’s not often that I get to do construction, but today I had the opportunity to build some stuff that was right at my level. Over at Metro Community College, there was a kids’ event sponsored by Next Generation Omaha. Katelyn Cherney and I represented Habitat there; she took the morning shift, I the afternoon. The highlight of our table was the chance to build tic-tac-toe boards. These were little building kits from Lowe’s, kid-size and a lot of fun.

The little kids who stopped by couldn’t wait to get a hold of a hammer. I won’t say they were the most enthusiastic builders I’ve seen – just that, as children, they were the least censored about it. Each small group that came by was eager and all hands (I had forgotten that children seem to have more hands than normal people). Each child wanted to learn how to piece together the small wood parts, how to use the claw part of the hammer to undo mistakes. Moms and dads lent assistance. A clown came by to shape balloons into a yellow daisy. And the children pounded their nails.

Each kid walked away with a little box containing little red and blue pieces, ready to be pitted against each other on the printed box top. As the children scurried away to another table to get their faces painted, I wondered if we’d see them again someday at a Habitat build. Could be a long shot, but I hope they got a taste of what it’s like to be part of Habitat: a feeling of productiveness, knowing that there are tangible results from your efforts, and a feeling of empowerment, learning that you can do something cool, no matter how small your hands.

- Melissa Breazile