from the cupboard and transferred a slice of the toast to each of them . She poured a glass of milk for Maddie and coffee for herself , then took Maddie her breakfast .
When she sat down at the table with her plate of cheese toast and coffee , Davie asked , “ If I hurry and get dressed can I go downstairs before we go ?”
Jill took a drink of her coffee and shook her head , “ no ,” then took a bite of her cheese toast looking at her son .
Just as Davie opened his mouth to plead , she said , “ You need to hurry and get dressed anyway because we need to get going if we ’ re going to walk there .”
That worked . Davie started quickly digging into his cereal and shoveling it into his mouth . He knew that walking to the MWR was an adventure all on its own since it was a few blocks away and there was plenty to see .
• • •
When Jill entered the MWR building , she saw her friend , Tricia , standing with two of her neighbors in the anteroom . Davie ran to Brandon and Johnathan , who were sitting on the floor in a kid ’ s lounge area playing with miniature cars . Maddie kept hold of her mother ’ s hand and walked with her over to the women .
“ Did you walk over here ? You could ’ ve driven over with me and Brandon ,” said Tricia as Jill walked up .
“ The kids have been cooped up in the house all weekend because of the rain so they needed the walk ,” she replied .
“ Does it ever stop raining here ? I thought April showers brought May flowers and I swear it hasn ’ t stopped raining since before Easter ,” said Barbara , her neighbor that lived below her .
The woman was new to Germany and she and her husband had only arrived in February .
The other three women laughed and Jill said , “ Welcome to Germany . And by the way , we are in an area that ’ s considered to have one of the best climates in Germany .”
The lady scoffed and just shook her head . She had just come from “ Sunny California .” “ So who ’ s in charge today ?” Jill asked . “ Colonel Martindale ’ s wife ,” replied Susan , her neighbor from the first floor .
A woman named Wanda walked out of the large , main room , which served as a large meeting area for everything from unit Christmas parties to kids ’ summer camps and had a small stage for performances .
“ Hi Ladies , I ’ m on kiddo duty today . I ’ m going to take them in the arts and crafts room . They ’ re going to cut out some stars for the bulletin boards and make some paper chains to hang up ,” she said . “ Mrs . Elizabeth is over next to the stage giving out assignments .”
Wanda held out her hand to Maddie , who took her hand after her mother nodded at her . The little girl knew “ Mrs . Wanda ” from Sunday School at the base ’ s chapel . They headed over to the kid ’ s lounge area to round-up the rest of the children . Jill and the three women walked into the main room and over to where an older , very sophisticated woman was surrounded by a group of women .
“ Alright , Ladies , we ’ re going to re-paper all of the bulletin boards in white and then edge them with the red , white and blue bunting . The stars that the children are cutting out can go on the boards and we ’ ll attach Sharpie pens to the boards so that families can write their soldier ’ s name on a star . We also need to set up the tables and chairs because there are going to be several luncheons and dinners here this week .”
Armed Forces Week was full of activities for both the military dependents and their soldiers and a lot of them took place in the MWR building . The week culminated on Armed Forces Day , which was always the third Saturday in May . On that day , there would be several events throughout the day , starting early in the morning with a free breakfast and ending with fireworks after sundown .
“ We ’ re also going to make some centerpieces that can stay on the tables for the week ,” the Colonel ’ s wife continued .
Jill knew immediately what she wanted to do and it wouldn ’ t be making centerpieces . She didn ’ t have the gift of creativity . She quickly volunteered to help with re-papering the large bulletin boards that made up a large portion of the walls on each side of the large , all-purpose room that had stage at one end and a huge commercial-style kitchen at the other end .
72 MoultrieScene MAY 2024