I have no excuse other than I went back to work about 3 months ago & is kickin’ my backside!!!! Is hard for me after 2 years of not working because of my injuries.
But I had what some might call an epiphany. I took a 4000 mile road trip this autumn, basic purpose was to move a WWII veteran who has been like a father to us for about 16-17 years and he made the decision to move back to Ohio (where he is originally from) to finish his years with his daughter. So I moved him. VERY bittersweet but was a good thing for him (and hopefully his daughter…) though we miss him terribly. Well, one of my sons & his fam are in WV so I dropped on down to visit with them for 8-9 days & took my time coming home.
It all seemed to start when, on my way to WV from northern Ohio, I ALMOST drove right past my Girl Scout Camp in Ohio - Camp Wakitomika. I squealed to a near stop & pulled onto the road going up to the camp. My heart was POUNDING!!! I didn’t know where it was - I had been there for 2 weeks 40 years & 1 month prior to this autumn. I was afraid it would be closed up with gates & somehow I’d have to back my rig (I was pulling an empty cargo trailer) back onto the winding, hilly US highway. I was wrong. It was open all the way up. It was exactly as I remembered it with a few new buildings, but no old buildings torn down from what I could tell. The old dinner bell on a post was still there outside the mess hall, the same old flag post.
Then I found the paths down to the various camp units. And the tents were still up on the tent platforms…including my old platform, which HAD to be the same old platform judging from how old the wood appeared. It was silent up there other than acorns falling near constantly. Absolutely beautiful. I hiked for the first time in over 2-3 years, and before heading down to my old unit (Tiratomba) I tossed my cane into the backend of my pick-up & just took that big leap of faith I was not sure if I would get myself into a fix - but I had to try. It was a real turning point. I hiked about 1 to 1-1/2 miles total up there going to various sites and just feeling the aura of where I spent the most magical 2 weeks of my childhood.
Well, that started a big transformation for me. I haven’t used my cane since then, and that was in September. And in WV with my son & fam we hiked around some on a long weekend down to the New River Falls, and some other parts of the New River (we went to the gorge - home of Bridge Day, which is a BIG deal), and was much more active & capable than I had been the previous 2 trips out there. It felt so good. So on the way home I suddenly had a lot of ppl in my truck with me (not real ppl - just in my head) helping me decide on my new path. I couldn’t face going home & just being “disabled” any longer. I decided that I would go to work at a local retail store / catelog call center taking orders & doing customer service. And 2 days after I got home I had the job! It is kicking my butt - sitting 8 hours a day is rigorous & there are days/nights I sleep 12-14 hours a day, which isn’t great, but I’m still getting used to it. But I still am not using my cane. AND while in WV I taught myself to stop limping. And I don’t limp about 70-80% of the time, which is really great for me. I’m loving it in that regard but looking forward to the day when I am not so horribly exhausted that I have more time for Laptops & other normal things - like cleaning house etc.!!! My husband is so glad I am back to work that he’s not griping about having to do most of that, but he works mostly in the summer so we’ll see how things go when he starts to get busy…!!
Donations for LFTW continue….2 youth groups in Baltimore of an Evangelical church came together and did a fundraiser for us, as did Spring Hill Middle School in Kansas - and some other individual donations. But having youth involved with this is so wonderful and I love that. I can’t thank them enough and when I think about what work they must have done to raise the money they all did…is amazing. And to think that these are the future of America, that is really encouraging. You only hear about the troubled ones in the media….but I do not believe they are the majority. Not at all.
There was also a young college student in RI who did some fundraising on her own, as well as collecting the phones for PhoneRaiser (see website for more info), who pays us for recycling cells & ink cartridges.
Well, that’s a quick update for now - I have GOT to go make a pot of coffee & eat a little something before getting ready for work (I work swing shift).
Keep us in your thoughts if you have an idea for fundraising!!!! We have dozens of laptops in various stages of reconditioning; but they are VERY LARGE paperweights if we don’t have the $$$ to finish them & get them shipped to the various facilities who are depending upon us.
Peace Out!!!! Keep our troops and their families in your prayers….
Laura