My Hero

If you are familiar with my kits, you may recognize "My Hero" as the name of one of them. One of the embelllishments in the kit is a definition of courage which defines courage as "...the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear; bravery." This past weekend at the Memories Expo in Orlando, I met a real life hero right in my booth. She didn't look any different than any of the other people walking through the aisles and if I hadn't spoken to her, I never would have known. This lady walked into my booth, looked around, and asked if I had anything military. I pointed out the military stickers and embellishments and then showed her the "My Hero" kit. I explained that although it didn't say anything about the military, it did use paper that was associated with all the branches of the service on the background. As I walked back to the register stand, I continued to talk to her about the kit. I explained to her that 10% of the sales from the kit would be donated to SoldiersAngels.org, which is an organization that helps provide a lot of needed services to soldiers who are deployed. When I mentioned the soldiers, she looked up from the kit and I saw the tears start to creep down her cheeks. As she cried, she told me about her son...her only son...who was killed in Iraq three years ago at the age of 22. She told me how he was killed and about finding out and as she talked, the tears continued to flow. When she finished talking, she looked at me and asked me a simple question. "How can I go on? I've lost my only child. How can I go on?"

She paid for her purchases and walked away but she left, she left something behind. She left me with a renewed respect for the mothers of all soldiers and the courage that they must keep in their hearts. To all of you...mothers, fathers, wives, husbands, and all the rest...I salute you. You are the keepers of the faith. You are truly my heroes.

Ronda

Greetings from Orlando!

Wow, I had forgotten how wonderful Orlando can be in November!! When we left Cleveland on Saturday, it was VERY cold but by the time we made it to Florida on Sunday, it was in the 60s and 70s. What a wonderful change!! The weather has been gorgeous all week...sunny and in the low 80s with low humidity. I've always said that I wouldn't even consider retiring to FL but I'm beginning to think I could stand this kind of weather...

Speaking of Cleveland, though, I have to tell you how much I enjoyed the crop that I participated in. It was a benefit crop for a group in Middleburg Heights. The ladies up there were a lot of fun and best of all, I got to see one of my best friends for the first time in a while. Renee, who is the director of Lighthouse Boxer Rescue, came and scrapbooked all day so we got time to catch up on a few things. Here's a photo of Renee and one of her friends. See the bucket there by Renee? Well, keep watching the web site -- we will be adding new kits to create doggy treat cans just like the one I did for Renee after the first of the year. Not only doggie treat buckets, though...the plan is to add LOTS of new kits and ideas for you to enjoy.

This week is the Orlando Memories Expo. If you are in the area, be sure to stop by and visit for a minute. I'll be in booths 804 & 806. There will be LOTS of new kits to checkout so be sure to stop in!

Until the next time, happy scrapping!

Ronda