4-H Visits The Vinyards Nursing Home

    Yesterday was a beautiful day.  Very hot, but beautiful.  A fine day for the Ragged Ridge Ramblers 4-H Club to take some time out of their summer vacation to visit Concord at the Vineyards Nursing Home in Frankfort.  Our meetings are usually the third Sunday of the month, but being as next Sunday is Father's Day, it was moved up a week so we can celebrate next Sunday with our dads and other father figures.
    You're probably thinking I'm an advisor of the group seeing as I went, took some pictures, and am reporting our trip to you, but I'm not.  They tell me I'm an advisor "in training."  No, didn't think you'd heard of that before either.  That's because me and my advisor friend, Connie, missed the meeting for advisors and potential advisors earlier in the year, so I have to wait until next year to be an advisor.  That's okay, though.  I always enjoy helping out, title or no title.  It's what I like to do.
    So, on to my story...we had a great time visiting The Vineyards.  The group has been there before, and seem to really enjoy the visits.  We've made blankets for all of the residents, brought candy, and yesterday invaded them with animals.  There were two dogs, a kitten, a goat, a rooster, a rabbit, and some nice soft stuffed animals.  I sure hope I didn't leave any animals out.  There were also a few members that joined us sans animals, and I appreciate that they took the time to join us.  I was the official carrier of stuff and didn't mind a bit.  Volunteered for the job.  Someone had to carry a wire cage with rooster poop in it and the kitten carrier...oh and the goat brush.  That is one cute but hairy goat!
    We started out on the patio visiting with some residents that were out enjoying the fresh air.  Phoebe, our English Angora rabbit, really enjoyed relaxing in a woman's lap while being pet.  Scott, the Kid's Mille Fleur d'Uccle rooster, also had a great time.  He took a ride around the patio with a woman in a wheelchair.  Then we moved on to the television area and visited with some folks there.  Afterwards we took our parade of animals down the halls to visit folks that were in their rooms.  One girl's baby goat had such a nice time laying in bed with a man that she fell asleep.  Totally cute!  It was so nice to be able to bring a little bit of what we enjoy at our homes to The Vineyards.
    So this gets me to thinking...do you volunteer with any groups in your community?  Have you ever thought about visiting people who would probably really enjoy a visit but may not get one often?  Maybe you should think about it.  Volunteering for something, whether it be Boy Scouts, 4-H, the local soup kitchen, or something else that floats your boat is a good thing.  Seems now days folks are so busy flitting here and there that they forget about the importance of stepping up and volunteering for something, no matter how big or small.  Think on it.  Smiling & Waving, Sharon

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