It's been a busy but rewarding day.  I met with the volunteer coordinator at the BAMC Fisher House today.  What an amazing place!  The Fisher family has donated these beautiful homes to bases all over the world.  What's it all about?

"There is at least one Fisher House™ at every major military medical center to assist families in need and to ensure that they are provided with the comforts of home in a supportive environment. Annually, the Fisher House™ program serves more than 8,500 families, and have made available more than two million days of lodging to family members since the program originated in 1990. Based on a comparison of fees at a Fisher House™ (the average charge is less than $10 per family per day, with many locations offering rooms at no cost) with commercial lodging facilities in the same area, it is estimated that families have saved more than $60 million by staying at a Fisher House™ since the program began."

We met one of the guests, a woman whose husband is in BAMC (Brooks Army Medical Center).  His unit had been hit by an IED, and he'd lost both legs, and had two broken arms, and multiple other injuries.  She was so upbeat, and so confident about his recovery that she made me want to cry with pride at their bravery!  I didn't then, did not want to upset her, but I am now...what can I say, I'm a big baby!  I also met another volunteer whose son is in Iraq.  He's been there for 7 months, and had been home for an IED-caused R&R.  He saved two of his unit members after the blast, and was healing from the burns he received for his efforts.  He is now back in Iraq. 

During all of this, I got a call from a special man, Jim, a retired Colonel, who is now heading up the San Antonio Soldiers Angels network.  His gracious wife is the local treasurer, and they donate a tremendous amount of time and resources to the Angels.  I've been so happy to be a part of this fabulous group of people, and have met more earthly angels than I ever could have believed possible.  The reason Jim phoned was because he was in a pinch.  Another angel had been scheduled to take a soldier's wife to the airport, and had to back out.  I agreed to fill in, and was blessed with another story.

The character and bravery of our military personnel is well-documented, but the little stories, the special personal stories of their character often goes untold.  In the case of this special lady I took to the airport today, a veteran herself, her story is not unique in the annals of history, but it may be in the annals of all divorces.  She is fighting a form of leukemia, and had already lost her hair and strength to chemotherapy.  She had not lost her fighting nature, and she was grateful to her soon-to-be ex-husband for not divorcing her before her treatment was complete.  He found out about her diagnosis after he'd asked for the divorce.  As she put it to me stoically "Things like that happen."  Loosely translated, that means when you are away from your family for extended periods, you can grow apart. 

About her husband: he has taken over the care of their 9 year old son (she says he's a great dad), the sale of their home, the packing of her property, the shipping of it, even though he is now stationed in Colorado Springs, CO.  In spite of the divorce situation, his character is showing through, and I'm so grateful to our military for teaching character and a sense of responsibility to our military personnel.  It's sadly lacking in many homes in America today.  Don't believe me?  Go read any newspaper, watch any news program, or research news on the internet.  You'll soon see what I mean.

NOTE TO ALL SOLDIERS ANGELS;  I heard some of the best ideas today for sending packages to your heroes!  Maybe you already knew it, but I didn't, so I'm going to share with you now.  Can you say "Theme"?  Yep, theme as in "party theme", or "Christmas theme", or "birthday theme", or whatever theme might be appropriate to the season.  Head for the dollar store and stock up on fun things, buy appropriate food to follow the theme, and have fun...but more importantly, give them a reason to share fun with their fellow heroes.  I'm sure the Blue Star Moms have more fun ideas...that is where I got those ideas!  I can hardly wait to try it out!  Now that's what I mean when I say "rewarding".