Wish #98

When I was going through my Christmas cards from this last holiday season - I realized that my friend from Travis AFB, Juanita, had slid a lovely piece of teal fabric into her card and I didn't take it out and put it in our "quilt" pile!

Juanita is a really special lady. I met Juanita when I got involved in the Officers' Spouses' Club (OSC). We served on the board of this organization together and Juanita was the representative for the Retired Officers' Spouses. This was a very active group - and many things in the OSC just wouldn't have happened without their assistance and involvement. Juanita was also one of the absolute luckiest people I've ever met. She won prizes at all of our Bingo functions and even door prizes! And I mean - she won the GOOD prizes! We all teased her a lot about this and it was well known (and envied!) The club was auctioning off a TV at one event and they actually auctioned off 5 remote controls and then called all of those folks up - and they took turns seeing which remote worked and that is who won the TV. Well this great gal Becky had won one of the remotes and had Juanita just rub it for good luck - and you know.....Becky won the TV! I'm thinking we should have knicknamed Juanita the Lucky Buddha or something.

She and her late husband Steve were world travelers - and were always going somewhere exciting and often exotic. He accompanied her to so many events - and we all loved him too. He passed away suddenly last year and this was Juanita's first holiday season without her husband. I can't imagine how hard that must be - but her Christmas card was kind and full of Juanita's spirit. She mentioned that she had recently joined the Society of Military Widows and had also completed a computer class!

Juanita's wish for us was:

Best wishes for a healthy, happy New Year. How wonderful to hear about the new addition to your family!

Juanita - thank you for your thoughtfulness! I miss you and will always be grateful for your contribution to Ty's welcome home quilt!