Author: Angie Dobbs

The second week was vacation week.

I had booked a flight for my mom and I extremely early on a Tuesday morning, and we spent the night before with my daughter and her husband.  It was great getting to spend time with them and catching up.

A few years ago, Cher was in concert in Dallas.  My mom and I have since regretted not being able to go.  Mom is a huge fan of her music.  In September, I was looking for places to spend a vacation, and I came across that Cher would be in concert in Vegas for some of the dates of my vacation.  I then found a really great deal for the flight plus hotel room.  I did a little more money-saving investigative work and found that if I booked within a certain date, 2 free tickets to shows would be thrown in.  One of the shows was to see Cher in concert.  That sealed the deal.

On Tuesday of vacation week, my mom and I were in Vegas.  Since our flight landed very early, we were pleasantly surprised that we were immediately allowed to check into our room.  I have never been to Vegas and did not know what to expect.  My mom and I had a great time.  We laughed so hard, and I always enjoy spending time with her.

My mom comes in a petite package of total energy.  I have a very hard time keeping up with her, but I try to because I don’t want to miss out on any fun.  We saw a magic show, a mystery dinner show, and the reason why we went:  Cher.  We were standing up and dancing to the great music.  We had a wonderful time.  We are already talking about when we should go back.

Thank you so much for this time away from work.  I greatly appreciate it.

I returned last week from a wonderful mini Sabbatical.

I went to WI for the Hearts of Hope camp with a group from FD.  I was a helper bee and buzzed around to different parts of the camp helping wherever and whenever needed.  Hearts of Hope is a grief camp that serves families affected by the death a loved one.  It is amazing to see the transformation that these sweet families go through just over the course of a weekend.  Some come to the camp mad, and by the end of the weekend, they are laughing and smiling.  I have confidence that the seeds of hope are planted into each camper.

When I returned from WI, I spent the week delivering Meals on Wheels.  This is a great organization.  I always enjoy delivering meals.  It makes me sad to think that sometimes, the only person one might see all day is the one delivering the meal.  I had two different routes that week.  This was great because I was able to see and visit with the same people throughout the week.  On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, deliveries were made to a group of different apartment complexes.  Monday was a little bit of a challenge because this one particular complex had different building numbers that did not go in numerical order.  So by the time Wednesday and Friday rolled around, I knew those complexes really well.  On Tuesday and Thursday, I had our regular FD route that we take turns delivering to on Fridays.  There was one gentleman that I very much enjoyed visiting with on those two days.  His positive outlook was something to strive toward.  If you talk to him and don’t walk away with a smile, something is wrong.

The Helpers of People week was very rewarding.  I am glad I was able to go to camp and deliver meals.

My 2nd week was spent on vacation.

A few days before I left on vacation, my car starting acting up.  Perfect timing, because Bobby, the mechanic I use, got the car in right away and fixed it within a few hours.  My bike also spent some time getting a tire fixed right before I left.  Gary, the bike mechanic is efficient on getting repairs done quickly.

I went to San Antonio for several days.  I took my bike and drove to New Braunfels to ride up and down River Road, which is next to the Guadalupe River.  It was so pretty and very relaxing.  After my bike ride, I found a fun bakery named, 2Tarts Bakery.  They make their baked goods every morning.   I sat outside at one of their tables, kicked up my feet, and enjoyed the morning and a delicious cinnamon roll.

I very much enjoyed my time in San Antonio with family.  We had a great time visiting.  I can’t wait to go back.

Kris, thank you so much for this time.  I took advantage of daily naps.  I liked not worrying about the time on the clock.  I had a great time both helping with Meals on Wheels and spending time with family.

Monday, I returned from my mini Sabbatical.  I had a wonderful two weeks, and I would like to share some highlights.

I had planned on taking my dad to Italy the day before Father’s Day.  We were both excited, since we didn’t even need our passports or would experience any kind of jet lag.  Italy, TX has a bike ride that we have never done before.  So we got up early that morning and headed to Italy to take part in the 63-mile ride that is called, Tour d’Italia.  We both had so much fun that we are planning on going next year.   I enjoyed my day with Dad.  And he finished 5 minutes before I did.  Way to go, Dad.

My first week of my mini was helping out with Meals on Wheels.  This is something I look forward to and like visiting with others.  It is sad to think that sometimes, that is the only contact they might have with people all day.  There was one day that we were able to take a box of fresh tomatoes and could share with those on our route.  I took the box home and divided up the tomatoes into bags and delivered them the next day.  The tomatoes were a popular gift and sure did bring a smile to everyone that received them.

I am so happy that my first week was spent delivering meals.  I  hope that I brought joy to others, because they sure did bring joy to me.

After the weekend at Hearts of Hope Camp, I spent the next week delivering for Meals on Wheels.  This is something that I very much enjoy.

Sometimes, that is the only conversation they will have all day.  Hopefully, it brightens their day when their food is delivered by not only having a hot meal, but a nice talk, too.

I know they add sunshine to my day.  There was one day where it was pouring down rain and in the 30s.  I was in a tiny part of town that made me nervous.  Almost every person told me to be careful.  They were so sweet.  I felt like my reservation at a restaurant was calling, “Judge and Jury — party of one.”  Yikes.  I was humbled.

I look forward to my next time to deliver Meals on Wheels.

During my two weeks, I took naps pretty much every day.  I was able to run errands without caring about the time.  I worked on some little projects for Christmas.  I took in some bike rides and long runs.   By the time the two weeks were up, I felt both relaxed and energized.

Thank you to my coworkers who covered for me while I was away.

Thank you, Kris, and the Board for allowing me the time away.  It was an incredible experience.

Hi everybody.  I have just returned today from the adventures of a mini Sabbatical.

Friday the 3rd, a group from Funeral Directors Life traveled to WI to serve at the Grief Camp for Children’s Grief Connection.  I absolutely love this camp and everything that takes place over the weekend.  I was a Helper Bee buzzing over to lend a hand wherever the Queen Bee sent me.  It is amazing to see the transformation of the families that attend.  They come in on Friday not knowing what all will transpire.  By Sunday, there were bonds of support and friendship formed with other families and counselors.

I also believe the families go home leaving with a precious gift:  Hope.

During my mini Sabbatical, I achieved a dream goal I set when I started cycling in 2005 by doing the Hotter N Hell bike race in Wichita Falls, TX.

This year, I decided to just go for it.

There are several from FD that cycle and tackled Hotter N Hell this year.  Mark Owen conquered the 100K (62 miles) along with Steve Bassett, Harry Drew, Bill Wimberly, and Doug Ray from Legacy Group.

Mitchell McLean, and his brother, Marc, and Patrick Messersmith conquered the 100 miles.

And let me tell you:  Those guys are impressively fast cyclists.  I am so proud of our group from Funeral Directors Life.  I thought we did really well.

I absolutely enjoyed the entire race experience.

I was very impressed with the volunteers.  They were incredible.  They are out there all day, and their cheery attitudes and helpfulness really made a huge difference.  You can’t have a great race without a wonderful group of volunteers.

I had an amazing two weeks.  I enjoyed my time at Meals on Wheels and getting plenty of rest.  Thank you, Kris, and the Board for this wonderful opportunity.

I have recently returned from a relaxing mini Sabbatical.

The first week, I was able to volunteer with Meals on Wheels.  I have always enjoyed helping out with such a great organization.  The people I visited with were so nice and appreciative of the meal.

My first day, I thought I needed to make a dent with some much-needed cleaning.  I took all my treasures (junk) out of my closet to go through.  I quickly convinced myself to rethink that decision.  My precious junk could wait.  I put it all back to save for another day.  That day still hasn’t come yet.

My second week, I was able to deliver Meals on Wheels on Tuesday with my daughter, Robin.  And on a few trips to Meals on Wheels, I got to visit with my coworker, Erica, when she was waiting to pick up meals to deliver.

I completely appreciate my time off.  During the two weeks, I took advantage of nap time, which happened on days ending in “y”.  I was able to take several bike rides after lunch during the week.  And as a special bonus, I had frozen yogurt for lunch one day.  Okay…two days.  Don’t judge me.

I have just completed my mini sabbatical.  It was a wonderful and rewarding time.  I want to thank Kris and the Board for the opportunity.  I am very appreciative.

I spent time at Meals on Wheels.  I delivered to a little over 50 homes in one week. The smiles and gratitude from the sweet people I delivered to was so rewarding.

I also helped out at Disability Resources, Inc.  Two years ago, I spent my mini sabbatical there, and it was nice to go out again and spend time with the lovely folks at DRI.  This time, it was during their Pumpkin Patch fundraiser.  The first day I helped the folks by moving pumpkins to make room for another truckload of pumpkins.  One day, I was playing basketball with some of the folks.  And the rest of the time was with great volunteers when classes of children would come to visit the pumpkin patch.  I had so much fun.

It’s funny that I went out to lend my time to try to help others.  But in reality, I was the one that received the rewards.

I have had a blast these past two weeks.  My first week, I did volunteer work.  The second week was a quiet and relaxing week.  Both weeks were GREAT!

I started my first week by volunteering a couple of times at Meals on Wheels.  That is always enjoyable.

But I spent the majority of that first week at Disability Resources here in Abilene, TX.

Dennis and Reegin work there full time, and are they both very impressive.

Their hearts are full of compassion and patience and are both very humble.

I had no idea what to expect and did not know what my week would include.  I came away so incredibly blessed.

Disability Resources is a Christian organization that helps others with different sets of challenges learn very useful skills.  These skills are used to socialize with others and with the hope that they can put their skills to use with a job.  They even have a set of products that they both make and sell such as salsa and chow chow.   I was greeted many times with a handshake and an introduction.  They are affectionately called, “folks.”

Some of the folks live at DRI, there are four houses off campus, and some go home at the end of the day.

My week at DRI was wonderful.  I got very attached to the folks out there and was sad to see the week pass by so quickly.

The week included activities like BINGO, and bowling, and a couple of days of one-on-one time.

My first day caught me off guard.  One of the folks decided he wanted me as his new mom.  I asked him if his dad was aware that he was trying to fix him up.  I was told, “Now, now, now, let’s just keep this on the low.”

A highlight was Tuesday evening.  Once a month, the folks have an evening worship service.  They read scripture, and provide the music.  When one of the folks finished reading scripture, she was treated like a rock star.  Everyone erupted into applause and cheering.  She was proud of herself, and rightfully so, that she pumped her fists in the air.

Another highlight was Wednesday.  Dennis and I took five of the folks bowling.  Dennis informed me that they take their bowling very seriously.  And that is very true. After every turn of one young man, he would come up to me, laugh, and say, “You’re going down.”  And he was right.  He beat me fair and square.

A very special highlight was one-on-one time with a man with Down’s Syndrome.  During free time, he was made aware that we would be hanging out together.  He was not thrilled at all that I interrupted his free time.  When free time was over, it was time for us to spend time together.  He still was not happy about that.  I can only credit God for this because it was not my doing, but at some point, he did not mind spending time with me.  When it was break time, he asked if he could have his glass of water then come back to our project:  coloring pictures.  I said that was fine.  I figured he would want some space during break time, but he came and sat next to me.  Then when we headed back to our project, he held my hand back to our table.

The next day at BINGO, he sat next to me.  He looked over and said, “You come back anytime you want.”

This was a very special week.  I hope to go back!

Thank you very much for this wonderfully amazing opportunity.  I am grateful that we have been given time to be a Helper of People.