“A Widow Bit Canadian.” That is one of the witty t-shirts being sold last weekend at the Camp Widow bookstore, at Camp Widow Toronto. And although I am not Canadian, after attending Camp Widow Toronto multiple times over the years, and falling in love with both the city and the people who live there, I often feel like I am, in many ways, a little/widow bit Canadian.

Last weekend, me, my SSI Regional Group co-leader and friend, Allison, and a new widow friend named Kristine, all packed into Kristines SUV and did the 9 hour road trip to Toronto. Along the way, and the way back, the three of us got to know each other more, had both silly and profound conversations, and learned a lot about one another. At Camp, we met some new friends and connections who were there for the first time, and reunited with old friends whose hugs felt like warm blankets of love. I did two presentations; my comedic one, and one called “Ask Us Anything” with fellow widower/speaker John Polo. I also participated as a “celebrity panelist” and the announcer, in our version of “The Match Game” for widowed people, which was absolutely hilarious.

And although the workshops and presentations are incredible and help you leave there with new tools to get through this widowed life, the real magic of Camp Widow has always been inside the “in-between.” In between the workshops. In between the Key Note Address. In between the lessons. Sitting in the hot tub on the top floor of the hotel, resting our bodies and laughing our asses off at life, seen through the view of our twisted and dark-humored widowed lense. Having a drink or an appetizer at the hotel bar, and talking about life after loss – the harsh truths of what we have all walked through, and how life’s challenges keep on coming, not really caring that we are widowed and painful things should just stay away. Finding a newly widowed person who looks lost and hopeless, and giving them a hug, and sharing our well-earned hope with them. These are the things that keep me coming back to Camp Widow, time and time again. We grieve together, We support each other, And eventually, we live our lives together. These people have walked with me through not only the death of my person, but through so much more. I no longer think of them as “my widowed friends.” They are simply my friends, and they get it like no-one else, and I love them.

See you again in June, Toronto. I’m already looking forward to it.