Today we laid to rest a very special woman. She was the grounding force that held her entire family together, whether they were near or far. Over the last 27 years I was privileged to get to know this woman to be a funny, sincere, enforcer to her kids and grandchildren, and most of all I knew her to be a loving wife to the sweetest man you'll ever meet. They were married for 36 years when she passed away from terminal cancer on January 2, 2012. This woman, Jacquelyn Adele Cammarn (Jackie) was the grandmother of two of my nieces. The oldest is 10 and lived with her grandparents off and on throughout her life. Her younger sister (I often refer to her as Satan on this blog) is just about to turn 6....and has not had near enough time with her grandma. Explaining death to children is tough...explaining cremation to a 10 year old is even tougher. The entire Cammarn family is an extension to our family through many many links. We grew up together roaming the streets and causing havoc on the world. We were poor kids doing whatever we could to have fun. Times have changed now. Most of us are married and/or have children...so there is no longer running around all day and night long causing havoc. Jackie was loved by many, as it was shown at the memorial service today. The only thing I can say that was positive of this ordeal is that she is no longer suffering from her cancer. Her cancer spread quickly and she deteriorated quickly. Now she is in heaven with a clean bill of health looking down on us, protecting us. Now we start the journey of helping them to rebuild their family and learn to rely on one another instead of their mom.
Rachelle
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Sunday, January 1, 2012
New Year, New Followers
I'm participating in a blog hop to start the new year off right! I'm hoping to find many new blogs to read (and to help me avoid homework) and I'm hoping some additional followers will help me stay on track with my blog.
Disclaimer: Things have been pretty hectic for me lately but I am in the process of writing two blog posts, one as a recap of 2011 and the other to share the hope and encouragement I found at a retreat for Wounded Warrior Wives. Look for those in the next day or two.
Wounded Warrior Wives Retreat
A few weeks ago I attended a retreat for Wounded Warrior Wives. It was put on by Operation Homefront's Wounded Warrior Wives program and sponsored by Tri West. In addition the actual "learning" part of the program was facilitated by Hope for the Homefront. The retreat was from December 9-11, 2011 at a ranch/camp just south of Junction City, KS. I want to share my experience with everyone in hopes it may inspire someone else to attend a retreat someday.
So I get there around 5:30 pm on Friday and get all checked in and what not. I was told that I was going to be sleeping in a cabin at the completely other end of the facility, in my own room, and have my own shower. I immediately started thinking that I was "the last one picked for teams" because of all this information. I left my stuff in my car until I knew where I was going to be staying...and because I got there so close to the start of the program, which was dinner at 6:00 pm. I did not know anyone at the retreat. I was terrified because I tend to be really shy at first, unless I feel really comfortable with someone. I ended up eating dinner with 4 other ladies, who made me feel like I had known them for years. I don't want to violate their privacy so I won't use their real names in here. One girl was 9 months pregnant and sat next to me at dinner. We hit it off really well and just talked the entire night long. Then I found out she was sleeping in the other lodge and we wouldn't be cabin mates. Just meant I had to chat with her throughout the day.
Friday night we had a served meal, I think it was roast beef with some mashed potatoes, green beans and a roll. It's amazing how I can remember food from that long ago! It was pretty good considering its not how we make it at home. After dinner we had a guest speaker, he was the commander of the Warrior Transition Battalion (WTB). I can't remember his name or rank for the life of me. None the less he spoke to us about the services offered by the WTB that were available to both the service member and the depended. One of the big questions and topics that night was the matter of recent soldiers in the WTB were not being checked on appropriately and there had been 2 suicides within the last month or so. He did a good job of steering clear of that question and finished his speech really quick, and then ran out the door so he wouldn't get anymore questions asked about his battalion. After he left, we immediately jumped into the program. The facilitator, Marshele Carter Waddell, shared her military wife story with us and began the program with helping us all know that we have a roof full of girlfriends who are willing to help each other.
When we got back to the cabin that night I started to slowly talk with some of the other ladies there. I am in love with how many amazing women were in that cabin with me. I stayed up till 1 or 2 in the morning both Friday and Saturday nights because I was talking with 2 or 3 of my new girlfriends. I loved having someone to relate to and someone to vent to without having the world hate my husband. I think I will be staying in regular contact with both of these ladies because they were big helps for me at the retreat and have given me lots of advice since then.
The Saturday portion consisted on learning signs about TBI, PTSD, STS, and creating plans to help us women overcome some of the problems that were identified throughout the day. After those sessions were done, we got to choose between 3 activities for our TLC time. I chose to do beginners yoga and hated myself the next day. The stretching pulled the muscles in my back too much and caused too much pain. Very frustrating but oh well. After that we went to eat dinner and then had our evening activity. We watched a movie about the royal family in England, something like King Arthur or something. I don't remember. Then on Sunday we did a few small programs and then created our cardboard testimony showing how we have changed from Friday to Sunday. After we made them, we did a parade in front of everyone showing our testimonies. Many made us cry, many made us laugh, but I think we all left with a few good friends and a new way to view our world.
Since the retreat we have kept in contact through Facebook. We have a locally scheduled bowling get together for the Sunday. I think we will have like 4 or 5 people going, but that's okay by me. I also signed up to attend a woman's night out event sponsored by operation homefront, Kansas Chapter. So in a couple weeks I will be spending my Friday evening with some of my new girlfriends from the retreat, and I'll be making some new friends! I'm super excited about it all!
So I get there around 5:30 pm on Friday and get all checked in and what not. I was told that I was going to be sleeping in a cabin at the completely other end of the facility, in my own room, and have my own shower. I immediately started thinking that I was "the last one picked for teams" because of all this information. I left my stuff in my car until I knew where I was going to be staying...and because I got there so close to the start of the program, which was dinner at 6:00 pm. I did not know anyone at the retreat. I was terrified because I tend to be really shy at first, unless I feel really comfortable with someone. I ended up eating dinner with 4 other ladies, who made me feel like I had known them for years. I don't want to violate their privacy so I won't use their real names in here. One girl was 9 months pregnant and sat next to me at dinner. We hit it off really well and just talked the entire night long. Then I found out she was sleeping in the other lodge and we wouldn't be cabin mates. Just meant I had to chat with her throughout the day.
Friday night we had a served meal, I think it was roast beef with some mashed potatoes, green beans and a roll. It's amazing how I can remember food from that long ago! It was pretty good considering its not how we make it at home. After dinner we had a guest speaker, he was the commander of the Warrior Transition Battalion (WTB). I can't remember his name or rank for the life of me. None the less he spoke to us about the services offered by the WTB that were available to both the service member and the depended. One of the big questions and topics that night was the matter of recent soldiers in the WTB were not being checked on appropriately and there had been 2 suicides within the last month or so. He did a good job of steering clear of that question and finished his speech really quick, and then ran out the door so he wouldn't get anymore questions asked about his battalion. After he left, we immediately jumped into the program. The facilitator, Marshele Carter Waddell, shared her military wife story with us and began the program with helping us all know that we have a roof full of girlfriends who are willing to help each other.
When we got back to the cabin that night I started to slowly talk with some of the other ladies there. I am in love with how many amazing women were in that cabin with me. I stayed up till 1 or 2 in the morning both Friday and Saturday nights because I was talking with 2 or 3 of my new girlfriends. I loved having someone to relate to and someone to vent to without having the world hate my husband. I think I will be staying in regular contact with both of these ladies because they were big helps for me at the retreat and have given me lots of advice since then.
The Saturday portion consisted on learning signs about TBI, PTSD, STS, and creating plans to help us women overcome some of the problems that were identified throughout the day. After those sessions were done, we got to choose between 3 activities for our TLC time. I chose to do beginners yoga and hated myself the next day. The stretching pulled the muscles in my back too much and caused too much pain. Very frustrating but oh well. After that we went to eat dinner and then had our evening activity. We watched a movie about the royal family in England, something like King Arthur or something. I don't remember. Then on Sunday we did a few small programs and then created our cardboard testimony showing how we have changed from Friday to Sunday. After we made them, we did a parade in front of everyone showing our testimonies. Many made us cry, many made us laugh, but I think we all left with a few good friends and a new way to view our world.
Since the retreat we have kept in contact through Facebook. We have a locally scheduled bowling get together for the Sunday. I think we will have like 4 or 5 people going, but that's okay by me. I also signed up to attend a woman's night out event sponsored by operation homefront, Kansas Chapter. So in a couple weeks I will be spending my Friday evening with some of my new girlfriends from the retreat, and I'll be making some new friends! I'm super excited about it all!
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