Quilt of Valor Presentation at the George W. Bush Library in Dallas

A year and a half ago, I received an e-mail from a lovely woman on behalf of the Quilt of Valor Foundation letting me know she wanted to honor both the Captain and the Ranger with QOV presentation quilts. To say I was touched doesn't even begin to cover it.

From the moment Marina reached out, I knew we were destined to become life-long friends. The list of reasons for this unexpected but cherished connection is far too long for this blog post; however, suffice it to say, at the very top of the list is the fact that Marina is a true and faithful Patriot who loves America's veterans and appreciates their sacrifices and the sacrifices made by their families every single day. Plainly put, she loves my son and father for their service and the men that they are as much as I do.

Since 2003, the mission of the Quilts of Valor Foundation has been to cover service members and veterans touched by war with comforting and healing Quilts of Valor. To date, the Quilt of Valor Foundation has awarded 133,131 quilts.

The fact that Marina chose our son, our Ranger, to be the recipient of the very first QOV she has ever created means more to me than I can tell you. Receiving these two quilts from Marina was even more emotional than I expected. In fact, when the box arrived, I couldn't bring myself to open it because I thought if I did, I would never stop crying or get off the floor. You see, the quilts arrived just as Ranger was in the middle of his fifth deployment to Afghanistan. His safe return seemed a billion years away and although his decision to leave the Army had already been made, I simply couldn't allow myself to plan that far ahead. I could not plan to award these quilts or even share the news that I had received them with anyone. What was even worse, I could not give Marina an answer as to when these quilts would be presented. Imagine that for a second... You spend months working on a quilt for someone and you send it off to be presented, only to be told it could be a year before the box is even opened. Yes, I agree, Marina is a Saint. 

In my defense, I wanted the presentation to take place with my father and son together; and, I wanted it done in a way and in a place that not only honored them for their service but also in a way befitting of the QOV Foundation and also honored the hard work, love and emotion I knew Marina and her fellow QOV volunteers had poured into these quilts.

Although Ranger came home with his Ranger-brother for Christmas 2014, the timing just wasn't right to present the quilt; and besides, the Captain was missing.

And, although my parents would meet Ranger and his buddies in Vegas to celebrate his birthday a few months later, I was not in a position to drop everything and run off to Vegas to present their QOV quilts.

So we planned a spring get-away... Where we would drive from North Carolina and my parents would drive from California and we would all meet in the middle, in Dallas where Ranger is at University!

But unfortunately, the Captain began experiencing some health issues that prevented their travel, so that plan fell apart. Honestly, I was beginning to think this would never happen... Until suddenly, all of the planets aligned and we found ourselves on a wild road-trip to Dallas last October!

And, while I could have whipped out the, (still sealed) box the moment we all arrived at our hotel, I wanted to wait to do it somewhere special. Somewhere special like... The George W. Bush Presidential Library! We have all visited the Reagan and Nixon libraries together and we always said we would one day check the GW and GH Bush libraries off our list too. So when Ranger said he would cut his class day short and meet us at the GW Bush Library, I knew the time, location and opportunity would never be more perfect!

Now, I have been blogging here for nearly nine years and the only time I ever

received hateful comments was when I discussed politics in this 2012 post...

Therefore, be forewarned... Because I am not the same thin-skinned blogger I

was back then, who took those crappy comments personally. No. Today, I don't

give a damn about anyone else's opinion about George Bush; the war, oil, weapons

of mass destruction or anything else anyone has to say about him that is unkind. To

us, George W. Bush is the Commander in Chief our son chose to enlist in the US

Army under and personally, I believe he was the right man at the right time...

Ranger signing his 11X, Option 40, US Army Enlistment contract - December 5, 2008

You can either stop now or keep reading; I don't care either way. My blog, my

family and like my love for them, my opinions are not up for debate. That all

being said, if you are still with me, then I do hope you will enjoy these photos

and take away what I took away from our visit to his library... That George W.

Bush is a kind and decent man who loves his family and his country deeply...

And, that being an American is an awesome thing to be!

His is indeed a great American story of faith, service and gratitude...

I am convinced no President has ever felt more

concern for us as a Nation. Especially on that day...

You know the one...

That day that brought all of us together,

despite whatever differences we may have...

Before Ranger arrived, I slipped away to ask one of the docents at the

library to hide Marina's box and suggest a private spot where I could

unveil the quilts and make the presentation without an audience...

Although I was offered the room containing the replica of

the GW Bush Oval Office, I knew this was the perfect spot...

Oh, boy!

No words...

...

As I opened the box I found this...

With the most beautiful and meaningful quilt I have ever seen...

Ironically, my father was once stationed at Ft. Riley in Kansas. Therefore,

to have his QOV made there is a little extra- special. This is my father in

1969, during the year he served in Vietnam as a field artillery officer...

Then, there was this one...

...

This is our son (first on left, bottom) and his Ranger team in Afghanistan

Rangers Lead the Way

This is the Captain and our Ranger just before his first deployment, 2009

This is our Ranger Sargent and the Captain now - Both proud veterans of the Army!

Quilt of Valor Presentation, GW Bush Presidential Library

Dallas, Texas - October 18, 2015

The Captain and his bride of 53 years, my wonderful mother...

How fortunate are we...

To be an intact family after so much that has happened...

On behalf of our family, I wish to thank the volunteers of the QOV Foundation

for their invaluable service to our Nation's service members, veterans and their

families. To Marina, for her dedication, patience and support. And, to Beth and

Leslie for the beautiful quilts they also helped create. May you all know how

deeply your gifts are appreciated - We are in your debt... Forever and always!

To learn more about the Quilt of Valor Foundation or to become

involved as a volunteer, quilter or to request a QOV to be presented

to a service member or veteran you know, please visit their website here