The first crew came on Saturday and worked all day. These young men served in the USMC! The first thing they did upon arrival to our house: thank Mr. AOW for his service.
The general yard work will be done the week of December 1.
The services we're receiving include tree trimming, tree removal, gutter cleaning, leaf raking. and the placing of outside Christmas decorations — tasks that I have been unable to do. Before his stroke of September 15, 2009, Mr. AOW used to do that kind of work. I have kept up the best that I could, but many maintenance tasks have been neglected.
Read more about Decorate A Vet HERE.
THIS STORY provides one example of the kind of reaching out that Decorate A Vet does:
Met with one of our Veterans family today to discuss decorating details. Tragically, this Vietnam Veteran was struck and killed by a texting driver in September. He left behind a loving wife and three sons. Since moving into this home in 1987, he has religiously decorated the house each and every Christmas. This year we will do the job to help carry on that family tradition and hopefully help in the grieving a tiny bit.
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| 2012 VOLUNTEERS |
More than lip service to the popular mantra "Honor our veterans"!
This help means a lot to us!
ReplyDeleteMrs. AOW has been fretting about the trees about to fall on our shed. She was going to have those trees taken down after her tuition checks cleared the bank at the end of September. But before she could hire a tree company, she had that terrible surgery for her detached retina.
We'll also appreciate those outside Christmas decorations. Our house will look great!
I was so pleased to have someone thank me for my service like those fellows did when they came into the house last Saturday. As a Vietnam Era vet, I don't get thanked very often!
No one deserves it more, sir. Whatever you do this week, I hope it will be thoroughly enjoyable. Have yourselves a real good time.
DeleteWay to go Marines!
ReplyDeleteOdie,
DeleteMarines rock! And I told them so the other day, too.
What a great thing for these folks to do! Pay attention you liberals out there. Good things get don by good people; not by more government.
ReplyDeleteYou never fail to get it exactly right in very few words. Happy Thanksgiving to you, sir, -- and all who follow AOW's blog.
DeleteJim,
DeleteSeveral local business have partnered with Decorate A Vet. The group, still only a few years old, has quite a list of partners -- including Home Depot.
There ARE good folks out there.
This is wonderful! I hadn't heard of Decorate A Vet, but I am so glad Mr. AOW was nominated!
ReplyDeleteOne of the serious problems with the way we communicate in this world, Jen, is that we very rarely get to hear much about the good things -- and there are still plenty of them, thank God.
DeleteHAPPY THANKSGIVING to you!
FT,
DeleteI expect a paucity of comments to this blog post containing good news. You know how it goes!
Jen,
DeleteUntil a few weeks ago, we didn't even know that Decorate A Vet existed! Great idea to help out a few veterans during the holiday season!
Sounds like things are regressing back to the mean for you and Mrs. AOW and you're catching some good fortune.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy.
I think the good ol' Law of Averages must finally have awakened and realized it was high time these dear and good people got a break.
DeleteHAPPY THANKSGIVING to you, Ducky!
Will you be feasting on individually-monitored, scientifically-controlled portions of tofu, bok choy, and distilled water, or will your risk having a bilious attack -- or worse -- and eat the traditional feast with family and friends? ;-)
Seriously, have a good time, Ducky, however you choose to celebrate.
Duck & FT,
DeleteYes, Mr. AOW and I FINALLY caught a break. The last few years have been rough -- and the last several weeks since my retinal surgery have made me even more of a shut in.
We'll be staying home for Thanksgiving -- for the first time in over 40 years. I'm not up to driving very far after dark (Relatives and friends now live too far away -- except for one set of relatives, these particular relatives not people that I can count on for an invitation), and the weather looks hideous too. We may get snow and freezing rain tomorrow! And Thanksgiving Day is going to be cold, too. I'm not going to take a chance on getting into a car accident and thereby jeopardizing my eye's recovery.
On the plus side, our cats (Mysti, Cameo, and Amber) will love the aroma of roasting turkey. Yes, I'm cooking turkey. Let's see if Mr. AOW and I survive my culinary attempts!
Sounds like a darned good idea to me. I wish I could get there and make a big casserole of my mother's sausage and chestnut stuffing for you. I know you'd both love it. If you didn't, it would be a first. ;-)
DeleteBut just between you and me, Pepperidge Farm's Cornbread Stuffing with a little chopped onion, a chopped apple, and crumbled cooked sausage added to it, is almost as good, and nowhere near as much trouble.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
FT,
DeleteI wish that you were here to fix us that stuffing!
I've got some kind of stuffing mix, to which I'll add some sautéed chopped onion and sautéed chopped celery. Not a gourmet dish, but it will do.
One of my clients gave us a gourmet apple strudel, so we're going to have that for dessert.
Happy Thanksgiving to you!
I am especially glad these good things have been happening to the two of you, and I'm equally glad to learn that the spirit of volunteerism is alive and well, despite all the bad news in which we are steeped day and night.
ReplyDeleteWhether the men who willingly do these difficult tasks for others realize it or not, the impulse that moves them to volunteer is an example of The Holy Spirit -- the Love of God -- at work in the world.
Mankind could not live at all, and would never have come even this far, if weren't for the graciousness of the Holy Spirit.
The First Thanksgiving was really an expression of gratitude for -- and a celebration of -- SURVIVAL in the WILDERNESS.
Today, Thanksgiving may seem more like an exercise in self-indulgence to us overfed, under-exercised Americans, but in truth we STILL live in the wilderness, albeit a different kind, and the need to express GRATITUDE for our mere SURVIVAL is greater than ever.
LIfe -- hard as it as -- is the Greatest Gift we will ever receive, so giving thanks -- even for our suffering -- is always appropriate.
FT,
DeleteWhether the men who willingly do these difficult tasks for others realize it or not, the impulse that moves them to volunteer is an example of The Holy Spirit -- the Love of God -- at work in the world.
You won't get any argument from me!
The Apostle James: "Faith without works is dead."
Salvation comes by grace alone, but good works do matter!
Did you know that meetings at the American Legion and the VFW begin with Scripture reading and prayer?
Some of the guys are rough around the edges, but their hearts are tender. The tender side of veterans is so apparent when they volunteer to assist "a comrade in distress." In fact, if not for veterans, Mr. AOW would have been in the nursing home longer than he was; the nursing home wouldn't release him until the ramp was in place. One Saturday, veterans showed up to build a ramp for a comrade in distress. All labor and all materials on their dime and their time!
Overall since Mr. AOW's stroke, local individual veterans and their wives (some widows) have been a great help to us. Other friends have helped, too. Mr. AOW and I are grateful to all who have stood by us. A lot of people don't realize how difficult our situation is day after day for four years now. Catapulted into old age!
Very Nice AOW. This is really how things get done. Like the new layout too.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great thing to do. I know how much you and Mr. AOW appreciate this.
ReplyDeleteDebbie
Right Truth
http://www.righttruth.typepad.com
Thank you for leaving the note on my post, AOW. I'm glad to know that the situation is well in hand; it couldn't have been handled by a finer group of young people.
ReplyDeleteWishing you and Mr. AOW a peaceful, pleasant and thankful Thanksgiving!
Good news. couldn't happen to a nicer couple. thanks, Marines!
ReplyDelete