On Hope ....

                                             .... image from here.


.... and whether it matters.

I am now in Myrtle Beach, preparing with the rest of the Board members for our first Camp Widow on the east coast (therefore named, Camp Widow East).
We have all been crazy busy for the last few weeks (months for some) preparing for this weekend.
This past weekend I was attached to my computer almost 24/7.  Crazy, but worth it.

I have found myself thinking about the men and women who will come to Camp for the very first time.
Some of them have been widowed less than a year or two.

I think back to where I was at a year and a half ..... approximately the same time when I went to the very first Camp Widow.  I went with 3 other widow - friends, which made it easier.
And I loved it.

I loved it because I was surrounded by 100 other people who understood me.  Other people who understood what I meant, even if I couldn't finish a sentence.

I loved it because we laughed a lot more than we cried.

I loved it because I didn't feel alone for one second that weekend.

But mostly, I loved that weekend because I left filled with Hope.

There were many, many people who were "further out" than I was.  And they were surviving.  Not only were they surviving, but they were Living.  And that gave me Hope.  I was not at the point where I could live again.  I was just existing.  And trying to survive.
I needed Hope very badly.

And I got it.
I was filled with it.

I knew that if those men and women could live again, then I could, and would, too.
I had Hope.

Since that very Hopeful weekend I've spent a lot of time trying to give other widows/widowers Hope.
On my blog.
On this blog.
On the phone or through an email.
And sometimes ..... sometimes face to face.

Hope gives you the strength to live one more day.
Hope gives you possibilities.
Hope helps you know that you are not alone.

Hope matters.
Very, very much.

And that, my friends, is why I am here in Myrtle Beach, hoping to meet many of you this weekend.
I want to share Hope with you.
I want to tell you that you matter.
I want to help you realize that you are not alone.

And I want the same for all of you who read this blog.
You matter.
Hope matters.
You are not alone.

And hopefully, if I can give you hope, you will one day be able to give someone behind you .... hope.

Because, as we all know, Hope does matter.

Very, very much.

So please .... keep hoping.
And please .... keep passing it on.