At Any Age...DO YOU!!

I hear her sing “If o’er sea or land I roam, still I think of happy home, and the friends among those West Virginia Hills.” I smile at the sound of her voice and the echo of a song so eloquently illustrating her pride and love for her home state of West Virginia. She tells me that she wanted to give a word of thanks to all that helped her pull the event together, but was afraid she would cry because it turned out so beautifully.

This Wednesday was the completion of a project that Annabelle worked on for over a month. One day she noticed that the nursing home did not have a state flag. The wheels began turning and as she says “consequently I decided that we should have one so people could enjoy and know more about the state.” Planning started, pricing the flags and poles, talking with administrative staff, arranging the purchase, and determining where the flag would go. It was all orchestrated by Annabelle, and that was just the tip of the iceberg. Annabelle spent time recording from her memory, researching, and writing facts of importance about our state, and even designed brochures to be given to people who attended the flag dedication. The day itself was an eventful one, filled with blue and gold décor, clothes and hairstyles were even coordinated to reflect the pride of West Virginia. There was a ceremony with a speech, cake, punch, piano playing, singing, and plenty of photo ops to capture Annabelle doing what she does best, inspiring all of us to strive for bettering our community no matter what our age.

Annabelle is in her mid eighties. She has always been very active and continues to be today. When we talked about the flag dedication day she told me that she was no stranger to event planning, as she was responsible for many ceremonies, dinners, and gatherings in her years spent as a community leader in Pocahontas County. I asked her what she enjoyed the most about the organizing process and she explained that she “learned a great deal about the history of our state through her research and had always loved to write so it was a pleasure to write Jud Worth’s (the facility administrator) key points for his speech.

I enjoyed the day as much as anyone. What I delighted in the most was catching a glimpse of this lovely woman shining, being exactly who she has always been in her life - a lovely lady with the ability to lead others, gather people for a cause, and pull off one classy event without a hitch. I like to think of this flag and its dedication ceremony as an accomplishment for the nursing home and Annabelle, but a gift for the rest of us. A reminder that we ALWAYS have the ability to be who we are, do what we do best, and make a positive impact on our community and those around us.

Thank You Annabelle!!