It can be easy to lose sight of something in the winter. Snow obscures it, covering it up and burying it from our eyes. We hunker down in our blankets, trying to keep in the body heat and keep out high heating bills. In these times, it is difficult to remember why you did something last month, let alone last year.
I had not been to Huss for months until last Saturday. This is a building that we raised over $80,000 for last year, spent countless hours cleaning and renovating, and had each poured some of our soul into. Yet it only takes a few feet of snow and the distance of time to make one momentarily forget how hard you’ve worked.
But last Saturday I was reminded of some things, as I stood on the rooftop of Huss, looking out over the city of Three Rivers from several stories up. I wasn’t alone. There were fellow volunteers, a *cino board member, and of course the original visionaries behind the acquisition of the building all up there with me, cracking through a five inch layer of ice and chucking snow off the roof of that old school, all in an effort to stop the torrential rainfall happening within its doors. Because while it might be easy to lose sight of something under the snow, buried and hidden miles away from where we live and try to stay warm, it’s equally easy to remember what you’re striving for when you uncover it and see it once more.
Tired as I was that day, and as disheartening as the impositions of the weather can often be, I found myself remembering there, on that rooftop, the vision and value of Huss, and why we were sweating and straining to dig and dry it out. Cracking the ice and seeing that pock-marked, white-ish surface, as ugly as it might be, felt like breaking through this winter and seeing a glimmer of spring. I know that shoveling some snow off of Huss isn’t going to bring the good weather any sooner, but it’s still good to be reminded that winter doesn’t last forever, and that we’ll be back in those hallways soon planning and striving to put the building to its best use. I’ll beat on some ice to be reminded of that.
And our efforts over the weekend also brought to light some of *cino and Huss’ needs. Mostly, we need a new roof, and so our efforts in the coming year may center on that aspect of Huss’ renovation so that next year, should the snow pile as high as it did this year, we can protect our community’s historic asset. We are also going to strive to provide the building with heat, something it has not had in some time, to further alleviate the stress of a harsh winter. I hope we can count on all our supporters to stand in spirit on that new rooftop with us and admire the view. It’s beautiful even covered in snow.