What Matters To Me...

What matters to me most in this world is my family. They are my world, and they are the only thing on the planet I would undoubtedly give my last breath for. When Holly died, while I was overcome with grief, I had to also consider what I had to do to get the other two girls (Heather and Kimberly) on the road to processing their own grief. Through an acquaintance I made at a Compassionate Friends meeting (and subsequently through my sister in law at the time, who also worked for St. Francis Hospital who is a major sponsor of the camp) about Camp Healing Tree   (which is not a Comfort Zone Camp). The cost, at the time, was a little much, but the camp also offered  scholarships which we thankfully received. When she returned, she openly discussed the tools she was given to help her, and actually seemed to want to talk more about the death of her sister ("more" meaning more than the "no" talking she had been doing...). I can tell you from personal experience how difficult it is to process and deal with your own grief at losing a child (or any close loved one, for that matter), let alone trying to make sure your children are ok and helping them to process theirs.

The one thing I learned through that process is that your children may not want to "talk" about their grief with you for fear of making you upset at the mention of your loved one's name or their death--they don't like to have to be responsible for seeing you upset. They really need a "safe" place (or person) to be able to freely open up about their own feelings without being encumbered about concern for you.  

I created a What Matters To Me slide show here showing a mere 5 pictures to show my immediate family, and for each person who "likes" it, $1 will be donated to Comfort Zone Camps ( a fun and SAFE place for grieving children). 

 PLEASE KNOW...by creating that slideshow, I was automatically entered into a drawing to win a trip for two to Aruba, which will be refused if won. I just like the idea of the camp and that $1 will be donated on my behalf to Comfort Zone Camps for every "like" :). ALSO....every blogger (who is a MOMSELECT member) who blogs about this has the potential to win a $150 American Express gift card--which I have already  EXPRESSLY asked to be taken out of the running for. 

What would be GREAT, though, is if you visit my little slideshow and "like" it -- I would love to rack up a WHOLE LOT of "likes" so that that a whole lot of $$ will be donated to Comfort Zone Camps....I know first  hand how wonderful these kinds of camps can be for children.