Unfortunately, however, even this simple task proved too much for me. By the time Gunnar called and told me to head north on Highway 43 to go get him, my brain had already shut down and I ended up driving nearly 10 miles south on Highway 43 before realizing that 43 north and 43 south are not the same thing. (It's that coming vs. going discrepancy I mentioned before.)
Jim Nihart (our videographer friend who is working on a documentary of the walk) is still with us for another couple days. He spent today filming Gunnar during his breaks.
He also got some interesting footage of me doing a few RV chores and not listening to directions.
July 31, 2009
As you know, this trip has been teaching me a lot about the sacrifices I am willing to make for the things in life that are important to me. I already knew that I was willing to live in an RV for 10-weeks to help children suffering from war. I also discovered that I would walk 3 miles in 105 -degree heat for a manicure. And this morning I discovered that I am willing to walk 3.8 miles for a decent cup of coffee.
It's true. Coffee is very important to me.
Around 10:30am we were at the Covered Wagon RV park in Abilene, Kansas (a very quaint mid-western town filled with lot of historic homes, picket fences and American flags on every lightpost). Our YMCA session in the nearby town of Salina wasn't scheduled until 4:00pm, so Gunnar was hanging out in the RV working on his route.
I had already finished my daily pot of Folgers but still couldn't seem to motivate myself to do anything productive, so I punched the word "coffee shop" into the GPS to see what was out there. Maybe something stronger would help.
Turned out that only 1.9 miles away was an internet cafe! I figured that walking there would be a great opportunity for me to get some exercise, get my caffeine fix, and take in the sights of Abilene all at the same time. So I packed my computer in my backpack, put on my walking shoes and headed north on Buckeye Road following the smell of espresso.
Traveling on foot through these small towns (in search of nail salons and coffeeshops) is a really great way to see the sights, I've discovered. In less than half a mile, I learned that Abilene is the birthplace of Dwight Eisenhower, it's the home of the Greyhound Hall of Fame (who knew there was one?)...as well as home of the legendary Kuntz's Drive-In (not even gonna try to pronounce that). I also found out that the county fair was going on this weekend at the local fairground...and even had a rodeo! Yee-haw!
I got to the cafe around 11:15am and downed a skim latte while sending email for the next 45 minutes. Ahhh. After my coffee addiction was satisfied, I hiked back to the RV, unhitched and went out to find Gunnar somewhere on the road to Salina.
When we got to the YMCA, we had another good session with the kids, however, I've noticed that kids are quite a bit wilder at 4:00pm than they are at earlier times in the day. Good thing I still had a little caffeine buzz going because getting them to focus took a little extra work. But we got the session underway and they all did a great job asking questions and working on their letters for Gunnar and I to take to kids in Iraq and Afghanistan. To date, we have collected close to 2,000 letters!Wow, getting 2,000 kids to do anything...no wonder I am so exhausted. No wonder I am addicted to coffee as well.
***
After the Y session concluded, we went back to the Covered Wagon RV park in Abilene to spend another night, so I decided to head over to the county fair for a little R&R (Rest & Rodeo). The truth is, back in Minnesota, going to the county fairs is my absolute all-time favorite summer thing to do with my family; taking my kids to see all the 4-H exhibits, the FFA barnyard animals, the rodeos--I was so excited to be there. I even wore my cool new Oklahoma cowboy hat and boots to celebrate!
It was a picture-perfect summer evening at the fairground and families were out strolling around, eating deep-fried food on sticks and meeting up with friends and neighbors. The 4-H kids were proudly exhibiting their art projects, the FFA kids were nervously lining up their prized calves to show the judges, and it was just one of those beautiful moments that reminded me how fortunate my kids are to be Americans living in such a peaceful world. Every child in the world should have an opportunity to grow up like this, I thought.
But by the time I got to the sheep barn, for the first time since I've been on this trip I became completely overwhelmed with homesickness. My happiness turned to sadness, and I missed my family so much I just couldn't stop the tears from flowing.
Of course, I still feel that this trip is an important sacrifice I am proud to make--more than ever. If Gunnar and I can get these War Kids Relief programs funded, we will be able to change the lives of countless children who otherwise couldn't even dream of experiencing a peaceful evening like this. That's the point of everything we are doing.
I know that my own girls understand this and support what I'm doing, too...but it doesn't take away the fact that I haven't hugged them in over 4 weeks. It's excruciating.
I love you guys. (*sniff*)
July 29-30 , 2009
Today we took a major detour (like a few hundred miles) and ended up in Waldron, Missouri...on purpose though!
We were invited to visit and make a presentation at the Operation: Purple summer camp where kids from the National Military Families Association (NMFA) were spending the week. This camp is just like any other typical summer camp; rustic cabins in the woods, lots of game-playing, craft-making and silly camp songs. (Actually, as a kid I never went to summer camp, but I did see "The Parent Trap" a few times, which is where I reference all my camp info from.) The difference is that all these kids have parents deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Military kids are often overlooked in the shuffle of deployment, and many suffer from the trauma of separation anxiety, disjointed family structure, fear for the safety of the deployed parent, as well as a sense of helplessness. So, Operation: Purple was created to bring these kids together with their peers who understand the stress they are under, to learn coping skills that help them deal with the familial struggles of deployment....and to just have some good old-fashioned camp fun as well.
In fact, part of the funds raised from this walk will go towards a WKR program that further supports the needs of these kids. Just because they live in America doesn't mean they aren't war kids, too.
Along with our friend and videographer, Jim Nihart, who joined us to work on a documentary of the walk, Gunnar and I arrived Tuesday evening, and met a few of the camp counsellors. Then we spent Wednesday morning just hanging around getting to know some of
the kids during the Military Day activities. About a dozen or so army guys and gals came to teach stuff like compass reading, navigation, cover and concealment, and important survival skills like how to make a tent out of your shoelaces. It was good fun!Over lunch time Gunnar and I made two seperate hour-long presentations to accommodate the 150 OP kids. As usual, we began by explaining what WKR is all about, the need and our mission to help kids affected by war. Gunnar then shared some heartwarming personal stories of his experiences with the Iraqi kids during his tour, as well as how he was forced to discontinue these friendships due to the Iraqi childrens' recruitment into insurgencies, and the sadness that ensued among the kids as well as the troops. From there, we shared letters from the Iraqi kids that we collected during our WKR pilot program from last winter.
Reading the letters gave the OP kids a great opportunity to learn a little bit about the realities of the lives of the Iraqi kids that they otherwise may never have had much chance to think about. We had a very enaging group discussion on the similarities and differences they discovered between the Iraqi and US kids, and we both found the OP kids to be incredibly insightful with many wonderful questions and comments. After the letter reading concluded, they all had the chance to write their own letters to the kids in Iraq and Afghanistan. From the quotes below, it is clear that these kids got a lot out of the session:
"My dad is in the Navy and he was deployed to Afghanistan for 6 months. I'm proud that he was able to help people. I loved writing this letter because I want to help people too."
"I want you to know that I think you are the bravest person I have ever heard of. To be in a war-torn country, I couldn't do that....We also have parents who do d
angerous stuff. I want you to know that I think of you as my Iraq friend, and you can say that I am your American sister." "My dad is serving in the US Army. When he is in Iraq I get very nervous. I know you must go through so much just living an everyday life. I can't imagine what it would be like to live where you do."
"My hope is that from reading this letter you learn that there are Americans who care about you and are thinking about you constantly...I hope you also know that that even though we have never met, I will always remember writing this letter to you and I hope you will keep it and remember that I'm thinking about you and your family and your friends every day. Stay strong."
"I just wanna say that I know that times get hard sometimes, but remember that through every dark night and scary moment that there is a brighter day ahead and that the end is near. So no matter how hard things get, stick your chest out, hold your head up and you'll handle it."
Pretty amazing stuff, huh? I truly believe that the best way we can overcome our own life's problems is to start helping someone else with theirs. I think these military kids get that.
After the session concluded, we gave the kids an overnight assignment if
they chose to do it. They were each given a piece of paper to come up with a well thought out service project/fundraiser explaining in detail how they would raise money for ASM4P. The next morning we got some really great project ideas going!! From babysitting to dogsitting, lemonade stands in the summer...hot chocolate stands in the winter...selling their old toys, holding swimming pool parties, doing manicures for $1 each, fundraising activities during the camp carnivals, bake sales at VFWs, bracelet making/selling...and on and on! Go kids, go!We hit the road after lunch to take Gunnar back to where he left off on his walk route, and were really sad to leave, but we loved working with the NMFA kids. Thanks for the fun guys!
July 28, 2009
Today we did another double-header with sessions at both the Andover and El Dorado YMCAs, north of Wichita. Combined we met with over 150 kids!
Check us out in the El Dorado news! http://www.eldoradotimes.com/news/x1543607178/Helping-the-kids
Afterwards, with only a few minutes to catch our breath and swing into the Arby's drive-thru, we were on our way to Waldron, Missouri.
Never a dull moment out here!
Stay tuned...
Love, Dina
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