Widow's Voice

When the Time is “Write”, so is The Teacher

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This past week I’ve been diligently working on material that will be used for a workshop I’ll be presenting in San Diego at Camp Widow at the end of next week. My workshop is titled Using Written Word to Capture and Comprehend Your Personal Journey. It’s a daunting and challenging quest, but one that I welcome.

According to the Soaring Spirits, International web site, Camp Widow “is a program that provides both practical tools and relevant resources for widowed persons rebuilding their lives in the aftermath of the death of a spouse or partner”. Most reassuring is the reminder that this event is a gathering of those who are making their way through widowhood one day at a time and that despite the sad circumstances, we gather together in a hopeful spirit of positivity.

The workshop is an hour and a half in length. My goal is to impart some of my experience as a writer to those who aspire to write about their experience in the Widowhood or other life-changing events. I’ve had an idea for a workshop similar to this for a long time, I just never thought it would take shape this way. But it is what the Universe has delivered. It will be interesting and enlightening to see how it works out in the “Real World”. I hope for the sake of those who participate it will make a difference and they will leave learning something new.

image courtesy of Soaring Spirits, Int’l.

But the term “Know Your Audience” keeps running through my mind. I’m aware that just like so many attending that conference, and especially those who’ve chosen that particular time slot to spend it with me, we all have unique stories to tell about our own grief and mourning and come from all walks of life and circumstances. 

In addition to being a workshop presenter, I will also monitor a group discussion for those who have experienced multiple losses and attend a series of workshops that I’ve selected over the course of an entire weekend. With so many amazing choices and presenters it wasn’t easy to choose. I also look forward to the Presenter Mixer that takes place before the event officially begins, where we will be greeted and addressed by the Founder of Soaring Spirits, Michelle Hernandez Neff.  Michele is a nonprofit leader, and public speaker who advocates for widowed people around the world. She founded Soaring Spirits, International in 2008 and since then has served over four million widowed individuals. It has been my honor to be the Saturday Poster for this organization and to be invited to participate in Camp Widow.

It all seems to be coming Full Circle now. I will spend my first night in San Diego at the same hotel in which I stayed when I headed west to fetch Quint in December 2021 just 6 weeks after Rich’s passing. This gives me a quiet space to center myself before heading to downtown San Diego the following day to attend the conference which will be energizing and emotionally exhausting although I believe ultimately rewarding.

I try to find humor in every situation and right now, while scrolling through the Presenter List filled with professional headshots, I note that I’m the only presenter with a profile picture depicting a woman holding a dog at a bar. 

Recently a non-widowed person asked me how I got chosen to present at Camp Widow. Without hesitating I replied, “Well you see, one day I lost my husband.” There was a pause, and I then laughed at my bluntness. But there was truth in my answer. We never really know what each day will bring and how certain events may shape a new direction we never saw coming. 

My dog has a sense of humor, too!

About Lisa Begin-Kruysman

Originally from New Jersey, artist/writer/blogger Lisa Begin-Kruysman now calls Southeast Georgia and Florida home. It was during a road trip in October 2021, when she and her husband Rich, who served militarily as a Navy Corpsman, were returning south after celebrating their 25th Wedding Anniversary, that he became ill, passing just three weeks later. The author of several books, including Dog's Best Friend (McFarland & Co. 2014) mostly inspired by the special human-canine bond, Lisa serves on the Board of Directors for the Dog Writers Association of America and now returns to blogging posting for Widow's Voice with the intention of sharing her personal experience of widowhood with those who know the struggles first-hand and to perhaps help those who struggle to understand the daily challenges facing those who've lost a spouse or significant other. She is currently writing a memoir about her Widowed Experience and the comfort she has derived from her relationship with dogs.