It’s amazing to see what a little sunshine can do for morale. When we started Rodney’s River of Hope project on Tuesday the sun was shining and there were plenty smiles to go around with the excitement of another project. Within 2 hours those smiles had faded as dark clouds and heavy rain surrounded the area putting the project on hold. Wednesday morning the mood was still somber as we tried to maneuver in the mud and find a way to continue the project. Late morning sunshine brightened the day and work was back to full speed. With great weather Thursday, and a great outlook for Friday we are back on schedule and a breath of relief can now be taken by all.

Now clearly it would not have been the end of the world if we were not able to get back on schedule to finish for a Saturday unveiling, but the looming thoughts of that possibility had a great affect on everyone involved. This really made me think of how a change of weather, and plans can leave us scrambling to find something positive. Now putting that into perspective; imagine getting told you’ve been diagnosed with cancer. There are a lot of similarities. The anxiety and stress, the scrambling to see what can be done next, that instant sinking feeling that everything you have planned in your life just changed. This is exactly why we provide the projects that we do; to try and be the ray of sunshine that can help bring something positive into what can be such a life changing event. Nature, just like cancer, is unpredictable, but if we can find something positive to focus on it just may bring back a smile at the end of the day.