As we hurtle from Thanksgiving to Christmas, the season of giving is still upon us. Two groups descended upon the Home this past week, despite continuing Covid-concerns, to deck our halls and help our Guests, Staff, and Visitors be merry. The first, a group of Georgetown Preparatory School boys, came on Saturday morning and lugged the many boxes of Christmas decorations and two Christmas trees (one for the patio, the other for the dining room) down 3 flights of stairs. They set the trees up and promptly decorated them, without even needing a ladder to place the topper ornament! Then, adding to our good fortune, this jolly and vigorous group agreed to return January 8, 2022, to lug everything back up the stairs for us. Those of you lugging boxes of lights and bulbs, stockings and angels, and an assortment of other Christmas delights up and down the stairs of your own homes, know how happy we were to see those boys and to hear of their desire to return for a few more community service hours.
Georgetown Prep student volunteers (left to right: Raphael Sine, Manuel Corona Perrera, Stephen Githaka, Kevin Jin, and Daniel Han)
A few days later, The Town and Country Garden Club members arrived for their annual decorating spree on behalf of the Home. Within a few short hours, the Home was transformed into an idyllic Christmas setting. Although we have no real apples, nuts, marzipan cookies, burning candles, or popcorn strings of yore, and our tree and most of our decorations are artificial, this talented group of decorators managed to capture the spirit of the Home’s Victorian beginnings. During their brief visit they beautifully readied the Home to herald Christmas Eve and Christmas Day 2021.
To these precious volunteers, and to all of you who have given so generously this season to the Home, we are truly grateful.