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Camp Widow San Diego 2022

Posted on: July 20, 2022 | Posted by: Kathie Neff

Gratitude, Respect, and Wonder

Camp Widow is a wrap and the value of storytelling is strong in my being.

Images are vivid in my mind.

I’m remembering the Well Loved photos of our persons who are honored front-and-center throughout the entire event. I’m thinking about the messages of compassion, help, and hope which met us at every turn. Moments of conversation, meal sharing, tears and hugs with friends newly met, and those from previous camps and/or from our regular life—these make up the heart of the JOY of the Camp Widow experience. The community.

Camp Widow San Diego – 2022

 

Community Heals

Hearing our stories, our struggles—even just knowing someone had an experience that closely related your own makes such a difference. Workshops open spaces for these conversations that often plant seeds for a new perspective. Hope grows in this soil.

And then there’s the laughter.

Who would expect laughter at a gathering of widowed people? And dancing?

Oh yeah.

The best.

 

A-a-a-n-n-d . . . Camp Crash is Real

Leaving the wonderland of respite, real life waited patiently at home. I crashed after being greeted with some regular life problems that appeared like a parent waiting on the couch as I am sneaking to my room after an epic, past curfew, night! ARGH!

Camp Crash can happen. This time, for me, it did happen. But it does not always happen.

Life is life. Unpredictable.

We are strong. We are resilient. We can ask for help. We can figure this out. And I did.

 

Hand holding camera with lake in the background
Image courtesy of Ryan Hoffman via unsplash.com

 

Photo Speaking Went Silent

I love photos. I love taking photos, organizing photos, perusing photos, sharing photos, and remembering events through photos . . . but this camp, I have but one photo.

If you are a regular to the Wednesday post on this blog, you know that it is filled with photos. Photos often capture more than words for me—in my phone I have exactly one photo.

Interesting.

I’ve enjoyed looking at others’ photos and I feel no sense of guilt or regret for not taking more photos; perhaps that’s it. There are so many photos others have taken that I am enjoying. Those are enough.

I’ll be unpacking camp widow in the weeks to come.

In the meantime, be well.

Categories: Newly Widowed, Widowed, Widowed Milestones, Widowed Community

About Kathie Neff

Kathie Neff was widowed on April 15, 2021. She and her beloved husband, Dan, were high school sweethearts and enjoyed dancing and riding horses together. They lived in gratitude, hope and forgiveness for 50 years and nine months when Dan passed quietly late at night, surrounded by their seven children who, with Kathie, were caring for him in their family home.

Dan and Kathie have been a part of Camp Widow and Soaring Spirits International since its inception, as members of Michele Neff Hernandez’s cadre of helpers from the Neff family.

Kathie believes strongly in the strength and bond that is the gift of community and brings a heart of love for all who have been affected by death and dying.

Long live love. XO

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