When the kids arrived on the van, the firefighters actually had to go on a "call," so the class waited on the van and munched some cookies until the other fire truck returned. When one of the firefighters asked me if the kids were allowed to have some cookies baked by a firefighter's wife, and I had to say that they couldn't (kashrus), it helped that I told him they'd also had treats while waiting for the truck to return.
What is it about firefighters that just makes me so grateful and so proud at the same time? Every time I tried to talk to these men, I got kind of choked up. There's something so humbling about seeing the inside of the firehouse, all of the gear and equipment lined up, the chalkboards and the trucks. I'd never been inside a firehouse before today, so this was as exciting for me as it was for the kids.
For most of our brief visit, I was helping to snap pictures, holding Ann's hand, reassuring the kids who inexplicably started bawling (mostly boys, I might add!), and making sure nobody stepped in any oily truck reside puddles. I did mention to several of the firefighters that I give them a lot of credit for their willingness to open the firehouse up to the kids and talk to them about fire safety.
Since I wasn't able to express my real gratitude to these men in person, I thought of mailing a thank you card including a picture of the guys and the class, and telling them how much we appreciated not only the visit, but all that they do every day. What do you think?
6 comments:
You or Ann...! Firefighters are like all the rest of us - I'm sure they would love to hear how they're appreciated. Sending them this post would probably work.
Ezzie - Since the firehouse is kind of low-tech, I'm going to go with a good, old-fashioned card (remember those?). Me or Ann what?
Poop! The comment I left on here over a week ago never went through! Stupid blogger ate it, I guess. Oh well. I was just going to say that I second what Ezzie said (minus the You or Ann part). If they're low-tech at the firestation, you can write the post by hand onto the card, or print it off and include it??? Either way, great idea :-)
Hila - I like your idea. Hey, did you set your blog not to allow comments? And there's no email address that I can see, so I have no way of letting you know!
I really need to take my son to the station, even though we see trucks and the men all of the time. He loves firemen (thinks he is one).
SL - They are usually amazingly accomodating about hosting people and showing them around the place. Considering the intensity of the work they do, that they have the savlanut for this is extraordinary!
Post a Comment