Where the blog are we? A Christmas to Never Forget with Cheryl and Pete Irwin. – All photos and content copyright 2020 Cheryl Irwin
I Get By with a Little Help from My friends.
I love getting a song stuck in your mind. 😁 The holidays have come and gone. We did however have a Christmas to never forget. Our change in living situation brings changes in traditions too. We stayed in North Carolina for the holidays this year. We missed being with family in Illinois but time and schedules didn’t allow it. One of our Christmas traditions is making sugar cookies. Nick and I cut them out and Nick and Pete decorate them. My kitchen in the loft consists of a toaster oven, dorm sized refrigerator and a hot plate. We do have the camper available also but the tiny oven in it, quite frankly, stinks. So over to Nick’s apartment for cookies. His kitchen is pretty small so cookie decorating was done on top of the washer and dryer. Christmas meals when we are in NC usually consist of chili on Christmas Eve and a standing rib roast on Christmas Day. Instead it was ribs on the grill Christmas Eve and chili and potato soup in New Bern on Christmas Day. But Christmas is still Christmas, no matter where or how you celebrate.
I promised last time that I would revisit the subject of Ray again. Ray is the disabled Vietnam Veteran who had 4 feet of water in his home in New Bern, NC from the floods of hurricane Florence over a year ago. We found Ray still living in his little 20 foot camper in the front yard of his house when we visited in November. Though Ray’s house is almost complete he found out that his flood insurance covered repairs to his home but not his belongings and he essentially lost everything. I put a call out on Facebook for donations for Ray and it brought amazing results! First up, my friend Kim P. who works as an organizer helping her clients declutter, move and organize. She called me for a pickup of kitchen items, knickknacks, a side table, lamps, and some linen. Since then she has added a dresser, towels and more kitchen items. Our friend and neighbor, Wendy G., called and said her son, Alex, had a recliner for Ray. My friend, Lori M., contributed a coffee table. Pete’s friend from his work days, Deb P., is moving and contributed 2 chairs, a buffet and a lamp. Our friend, Lauren C., contributed a bed frame with a mattress and box springs and Pete’s brother, Dean, brought a couch and chair all the way from Illinois. We got to top that off with a generous donation of a gift card from my church’s disaster fund. But…..all that stuff had to get there.
My husband and son tend to get drug into my “projects” but thank goodness are very kind about it all. So the 3 of us made a trip to New Bern in mid December and got Ray moved out of his little 20 foot camper and back into his home. His builder was still working but we set him up in his bedroom and put a few minimal things in his kitchen to keep him out of the builder’s way. After over a year in a little 20 foot camper he was SO happy to get back in his home. As we talked he just kept saying, “I can’t believe it. I just can’t believe it!” He was shocked that people that didn’t even know him would be so generous. I have to admit that I wasn’t sure if Ray would be able to use all of the items that were sent but it was like everything was perfect and ended up being just what he needed. He had been sleeping on a thin camper mattress on a piece of plywood. After his first night on his new bed he said he hadn’t slept that well in over a year.
Remember that change in holiday traditions? I found out that Ray was going to be alone for Christmas so my son and husband once again helped me out by spending Christmas Day in New Bern with Ray. We took the chair and couch that Dean donated along with a crockpot of chili and a crockpot of potato soup and had Christmas with Ray.
So we have adopted Ray (or Ray has adopted us, not sure which). Pete and I made one more trip to New Bern in January to take Ray the dresser that Kim had acquired for him. That was really the last piece of furniture he needed. We spent 2 days there. Pete worked so hard getting Ray’s garage organized and cleaning off some of the furniture out there that had survived the flood. Ray had a big TV that had been on a shelf during the flood and had then been in the garage for over a year. He wanted it back in the house so bad! So Pete cleaned it off and brought it in. I just kept thinking there was NO WAY that TV was going to work, but it did. Ray was very happy about that one! I helped him to unpack boxes that had been in a storage pod for over a year. He had no idea what was in them because neighbors and volunteers had packed them and he hadn’t seen them for over a year. We found his grandmother’s China, a family bible that he had taken on his ship with him to Vietnam and his father’s ring. I thought he was going to cry when we found the ring. He just kept saying, “I thought it was gone. I just thought it was gone.” His photo albums were pretty well ruined but he did find some that had a few pictures he can keep. Those will be extra precious now. The chair that Deb P. almost didn’t send, ended up being his favorite and sits by his bed. The buffet now holds his grandmother’s China, the couch, recliner, and coffee table are in his living room with his big TV blaring (he’s a little hard of hearing). A shopping trip with the gift card from my church helped to finish off basic needs of paper towels, rugs, shower curtain, silverware tray….. Ray is set and very happy to be back in his home.
When we were there over a year ago tearing the walls and floors out of his house one of the things Ray had insisted on was that his flag got put back up on his house. That flag is still there! And I am so VERY grateful to all the friends, family and my church. All I did was ask for help for Ray and they answered. Human nature is to take care of each other. We see it every day. So thank you to everyone who did. You all made a difference in the life of a man who needed a little hand up.
Pete and I are finally traveling again. We left North Carolina last weekend and are currently in Mississippi. We hope to have a whole 6 month travel time again so hopefully blog entries will be a little more frequent again. We are heading to Texas via Mississippi and Louisiana then New Mexico, Oklahoma…..you just never know where the blog you will find us.
Till next time…..
Thanks for stopping by my724outdoors.com. Our goal is for everyone to SHARE their adventures with the great outdoors! No matter your adventure, this site is for sharing it, sharing knowledge of the outdoors with everyone. As you browse the site you’ll see people from all over sharing their stories of trips, outings, hunting and fishing trips. This is a rich source of knowledge, tips, reviews and how to articles and videos. Be a part of the outdoor community here at my724outdoors.com.
Grab Some Swag! T-shirts and Hoodies at the MY724OUTDOORS Online Store~!
WHATS YOUR ADVENTURE? Tell us about it at https://my724outdoors.com! You can email us at [email protected] and tell us YOUR story! We will feature it on our site!!
