• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Widow's Voice

Widow's Voice

  • Soaring Spirits
  • Donate
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Categories
  • Authors
    • Kelley Lynn
    • Emily Vielhauer
    • Diana Mosson
    • Kathie Neff
    • Gary Ravitz
    • Sherry Holub
    • Lisa Begin-Kruysman

Prepping For Camp Widow

Posted on: July 10, 2023 | Posted by: Emily Vielhauer

Photo by ActionVance on Unsplash

In two days and 18 hours I will board a plane headed for Camp Widow San Diego! This will be my third camp. I’m so excited to go back and reconnect with my mighty squad of widows. I’m also looking forward to sleeping alone in a hotel room with no small humans demanding snacks.

But before I can play in San Diego there is work to do.

Obviously, I must pack myself for the four nights I’m staying. Which I am guaranteed to overpack for but knowing I have a problem doesn’t mean I’m going to change. Wrap up what I can at work, so I don’t come back to an onslaught of messages and overdue tasks.

Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash

However, the biggest prep is related to leaving the kids at home. They will bounce to three different caregivers while I’m away. Thankfully they all communicate well so I don’t need to button down exact handoff time and locations. I do create a document for the caregivers. It outlines my travel itinerary, the kids’ activities each day, who is on care duty, and the contact information for their doctors should they need medical care. All those things we just know as parents I make sure to spell out; soccer practice is at X park and the boys will need their shin guards, cleats, ball, and a water bottle. I am also creating a pack list for each kid of what they need while they are bouncing.

I do the prep to make me leaving as easy as possible on the people watching my kids. Not that I’m super worried about the grandparents turning me down to watch the kids but I already know I want to go back in 2024. I also might want to take another solo trip at some point. Therefore, I work hard to make the ship sails smoothly while I’m away with my favorite widows. Now, it’s 2 days and 16 hours until I get to give you all the biggest hugs!

I love these mighty widows!

Categories: Widowed Parenting, Widowed Effect on Family/Friends, Widowed Emotions, Widowed Community, Widowed by Suicide

About Emily Vielhauer

My name is Emily Vielhauer, I am 42 years old and have 3 knuckleheaded sons who are between the ages of 8 and 13. My husband, Tony, and I were married for 14 years and despite how things ended we built something great together.

April 19th, 2021 was the last day of my ‘before’ story. The day before I became a widow, before I was a solo parent to 3 boys, before I knew my love was suffering in silence, before suicide rocked my world, before I had to break the hearts of my children and all our friends and family, before I planned a funeral and delivered a eulogy, before I knew the true depths of my love for Tony and the way that love would be expressed through grief, so many befores.

My hope for this blog is to take you along with me as I navigate my life in the ‘after’ and that my words help someone else out there, whether they empower you or just let you know that you’re not alone out there.

Primary Sidebar

Footer

Quick Links

  • Home
  • Blog
  • Categories
  • Authors

SSI Network

  • Soaring Spirits International
  • Camp Widow
  • Resilience Center
  • Soaring Spirits Gala
  • Widowed Village
  • Widowed Pen Pal Program
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube

Contact Info

Soaring Spirits International
2828 Cochran St. #194
Simi Valley, CA 93065

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 877-671-4071

Soaring Spirits International is a 501(c)3 Corporation EIN#: 38-3787893. Soaring Spirits International provides resources with no endorsement implied.

Copyright © 2023 Widow's Voice. All Rights Reserved.