Veterans Day was approaching. I had another great fundraising idea.
There is a neighborhood of Senior Citizens in our town, tidy homes and yards, all close together. What if we went door-to-door singing patriotic songs…like Christmas caroling?? We could wave little USA flags, tell them about our LA performance opportunity and accept any donation amount they would like to give us. Surely Senior Citizens would have soft hearts both for the meaning of the day and for our inspiring songs.
In theory it seemed like a great idea. Inside, I was kind of a wreck about the idea--it was way, way out of my comfort zone; but, didn't that mean that this would be a good "growing experience" for me? Maria and James were less confidant regarding the opportunity for growth, but being the great kids they are, they went along with my (forced) enthusiasm and off we went to the nice neighborhood.
Imagine the extreme trepidation we felt as I parked the car. The neighborhood was silent except for a man mowing his lawn. We walked to the first house. I kept telling myself that I was breaking free of my fears, growing to a new level. I put on a cheerful face and with my two “team members”--Maria and James-- approached the first door. My heart pounded faster than my fist knocking on the door.
Slowly the door opened a crack, its outer glass door still firmly closed. We joyfully waved our little USA flags and sang “God Bless America”. I stammered out our explanation of why we were there. A wary and surprised elderly woman stared back at us and began to close her door.
I quickly told her about our singing telegram idea and that we were raising money for our trip to sing in LA...
She said, "Well, I'm all alone here and I don't have any money.." and quickly shut the door.
My kids stared at me. I took a breath, put on a cheerful smile and surged forward to the next house, talking to the nervous voices in my head. James was muttering in frustration behind me. Next house--no one was home; next house--another very surprised grandma. I tried to just tell her about the Veterans Day singing telegram idea and didn't mention money.
She said, "Oh, that's nice." and shut the door firmly as I happily called out “Happy Veterans Day!”
So, that was is for me. My brave facade crumbled.
I looked about the silent little neighborhood, stared at my stony-eyed children, “So, I think this is a bad idea afterall…” I mumbled
We piled back in the car and drove away.
I love the USA and flag waving, I get joyful tears when I sing patriotic songs, I honor our military ; however, this Veteran's Day activity is definitely not something I will ever try again. Door-to-door singing should probably only happen at Christmastime.
