On Saturday, July 2nd, Soldiers' Angels took over the famous Luckenbach, Texas for the weekend! We set up a table next to the dancehall and had cards and stationary for everyone to write thank yous for our soldiers.It was so wonderful getting to meet people and read the sweet things that they wrote. We had the opportunity to meet some soldiers that actually received packages from SA, and had an angel when they were deployed. One man told me, “I always looked forward to getting my packages and letters from my angel. It's great to receive stuff from family but to get stuff from a complete stranger makes your day. Lets you know you're not forgotten and reminds you what you're fighting for." Gotta tell you, I almost cried. So many of us have "silent soldiers" and to get reassurance from a one of "our" former guys reminded me why we do what we do. I must have met 10 guys that said they had Angels while they were deployed. I wanted to hug them all (but, I was pretty sweaty and didn’t want to torture them.)
People kept thanking us for what we were doing, the first few times it caught me off guard. I just didn’t understand why they were thanking ME. I mean, I’m just doing something I feel strongly about, something I feel is my duty as an American. I mean, it is the least we could do. The way I look at it is, they are fighting for my children, so that they can continue to grow up in our amazing country. I can take my holiday weekend and do something for them; they give so much for US.
On the first day, we handed out about 200 business cards, told everyone about the organization that would listen, and even met a new Angel (Hi Carmen!). We got over 50 cards signed, and probably about 30 letters. (I’m guessing at this number, it could be more.)
On Sunday, it was PACKED. Thank goodness for the women who helped me out! Ginger kept the people flowing in to our tent, Lisa, Jenna and I made sure everyone got a card and told them that they could adopt a soldier, too. People were amazed that they could adopt, when I told them how easy it is, I would see the look and they would get a little light in their eyes. I’m going to start referring to that as the "angel light." Good name?!We had a lot of people come in and tell us they knew someone that was currently deployed. I made sure to give them a few extra minutes and tell them exactly how they could sign up their loved one to be adopted. That’s when I met the family of our soldier "Tera." Someone had told the mother we were set up at Luckenbach, at that we could help her sign her daughter up. I had brought my laptop just in case, and the Wi-Fi was being tricky. Tera's mom had brought her two younger daughters and her parents. Now you need to know, that as I am typing this, I am fighting back the tears. The same way I was that day. While we were trying to get the internet to connect, I learned that Tera and her husband are both deployed, and their young son is staying with family. Tera's grandpa came up to us, and started saying how hard it is. I couldn't say much, as I was fighting back tears, and I didn’t want to cry in front of them. As he walked away, Jenna told me it looked like the Grandma was crying; she was, so was the Grandpa at this point. Talk about heart-breaking. I have never seen people more proud, but so upset at the same time. After we got Tera and her husband submitted, I asked the mom for permission to keep her daughter’s address. Her birthday is July 26th, and I want to make sure she gets shown a lot of Angel love. This family will stay in my heart forever. I pray that the mom calls me and lets me know how her daughter is.
By the end of the day, I was exhausted, physically and mentally. We handed out over 300 cards, had a ton of letters and cards, not to mention the fundraising! WOW. I am completely blown away by it all.
Monday, was a slower day. It was fine, because it gave me more time to slow down and have actual conversations with the people that made it in to the tent. And, they had more time to sit down and think about what they wanted to write, they didn’t have a line waiting behind them so they didn’t have to rush through. So many people would ask, "How do you find the words to thank them? There is so much that I want to say." Those are the letters that I would quietly fold up and put in the box. I know that whoever receives them will be very lucky.The Wilkins family hosted the Celebration, and they raffled off some items and donated that money to Soldiers' Angels. Have to say, that even though I didn't get to enjoy a huge fireworks show this year, Luckenbach made up for it: Amazing music all day, a Lawnmower parade that ended with the Pledge of Allegiance right there on the Luckenbach town loop. As the sun set on Luckenbach, I realized I had just had the greatest 4th of July weekend of my life.
Thank you Lisa, Becky, Jenna, and Ginger. I couldn't have done it without you ladies this weekend!!
1 comments:
AWESOME. I almost feel like I was there with y'all. I so wish I was able to do such things and your words allow me to see and feel what you did ... almost. Thank you so much! Angel pride and hugs to y'all!
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