Creativity

There are some good things coming from these crazy times. We have the opportunity to be creative. My daughter calls it “COVID Creativity”.

I think I was getting complacent, maybe even cocky, about how we set up some of our Operation: Quiet Comfort events. After we canceled the annual “Celebrate & Support Our Troops” dinner and auction fundraiser in April we had to rethink ways to raise funds. Like so many others, we needed to be creative. Having a garage sale wasn’t the most creative idea but it did generate some funds; thanks to everyone who donated things to sell, those who purchased items and everyone who sent monetary donations.

Now it’s time to plan the OQC Holiday Project packing. The past few years we have sent approximately 2000 Christmas stockings filled with goodies to our troops who are deployed far from home and families over the holidays. We plan to do that again this year. Once again, we are asking people to donate $10 to sponsor a stocking. (Postage alone is over $4,000.00)

Our new challenge is the actual packing. In the past we have had 60 to 80 volunteers in our building for a one-day packing event in late October or early November. That meant people working elbow to elbow packing stockings. We had a system that worked! Everyone that came said it was a fun day and a rewarding experience.

This year that just won’t work. We had a system. It took a few years to figure it out, but we had a plan – a good set up. Now we have to rethink it all. Sometimes I feel like my brain is a pretzel - all twisted. But there is always a way, it just has to be a different way. The plan now is to have volunteers sign up in small groups for 1 to 3 hour shifts throughout October. They can gather their own group or let me know if they would be comfortable working with others. Now I just have to plan what part of the process each group will do. This

WILL work! I just need to wrap my brain around a new way of doing things.

If you would like to help in any way or have any questions or creative suggestions contact me at janh@operationquietcomfort.com or 574-936-1424. I guess change is good, at least my brain is getting some exercise instead of being complacent.

What other ways have you found to be creative since COVID came into our lives? For the first few months Kenny kept putting together jig saw puzzles in our sunroom. Since new ones were hard to find, he would trade with our daughter when one was finished. My patience does not last long with puzzles. When summer came, he gave up the puzzles for outdoor activities.

One thing Kenny and I have done for six months is play rummy almost every day. At the kitchen table, out on the deck, or in the screened porch depending on the weather. We play each game to 500, but then track our scores to 5,000. I did not realize what a sore loser I am. I get really frustrated when he wins! I keep thinking that the odds say I should win at least half the time, right? One of our four children always wanted to win at any game he played. I never realized he might have gotten that from me until we started this marathon rummy tournament!

In the meantime, Kenny and I have decided we need a little get-away so we’re planning to “Wander Indiana”. You’ll probably get to hear more about that in the next week or so.