TCF Leesburg Chapter May 2009
News
Please visit tcfleesburg.org for information about upcoming conferences and meetings.
If you want to be on our Leesburg TCF email list, please send an email to theresaheitz@verizon.net.
Holiday Rondeau, a child psychologist and bereaved parent, will be a guest speaker at our May 6thmeeting. Please join us.
A Conference of Hope and Healing will be held on Sat, May 16, 2009 in Annapolis Maryland. For more information please visit www.bereavedparentsusa.org or email debiws@verizon.net. You may also reach Beverly Elero, our chapter leader, at 540-882-9707.
On Saturday, May 30th 2009, Andy and Beth Marshall are hosting Tommy's Run For a Reason at Algonkian Regional Park in Sterling, VA. The whole family will enjoy a 5K Run or 2K Family Fitness Walk, fun kids' activities, raffle, a silent auction, music and a catered BBQ lunch. They are hosting this event in honor of their son, Thomas, who passed away unexpectedly in May 2008. Please visit www.run4tommy.com for registration and details.
We are still looking for a new newsletter editor. Please contact Theresa Heitz at theresaheitz@verizon.net.
Who Was That Person?
An 8-year Retrospective
By Rich Elder, Palos Verdes Estates, California
From We Need Not Walk Alone, Spring 2000
Who was that person? He looks like me. He talks like me. But I don’t think I know him anymore.
Who was that person? He had so many friends. He was popular at cocktail parties and told good jokes. Today, he seeks out one person he can really talk to and that is enough. His telephone Rolodex is a lot smaller, but so much more important.
Who was that person? He had such different priorities. He skated over life, like an ice skater on a frozen pond. He never thought about how cold the water was. Now he has a totally new perspective on the world. He reaches out to people who hurt because he knows how they feel.
He has been there. He has felt the ice water.
Who was that person? He had an orderly chronological sense of time. Now the world is divided forever into simply “before,” and “after.”
Who was that person? He used to rush through dinner or cut the family vacation short to get back to the office. Now he thinks back to the family times as the most wonderful times of his life. He knows what is irreplaceable.
Who was that person? He used to worry about so many imaginary troubles, most of which never happened anyway. Now he spends most of his time in the present. He appreciates today’s sunset, daisies, simple things and good friends. He knows how precious each moment is.
Who was that person? He used to think about what he wanted to get out of life. Now he thinks about how grateful he is for the gifts he has had.
Who was that person? He used to measure his goals in terms of where he was going. Now he focuses more on what his life will have been about. He asks less and less why his child died, and more often: “Why did he live?”
Who was that person? He had never heard of The Compassionate Friends. Now they are his best friends. And he knows that by helping someone else through TCF, he also helps himself.
Who was that person? I don’t think I know him anymore.
A Mother’s Love
I didn’t have to look into your eyes to fall in love with you.
I didn’t have to hear you cry to know you loved me too.
I didn’t need to hold your hand to cherish you always.
Within my womb we shared our hearts.
You touched my soul.
You sweetened my spirit.
You gave me memories I'll always hold dear.
Yes, my heart aches since you departed too soon.
But a mother’s love doesn't end with death.
For you are my child, and my love is forever yours.
~Author Unknown
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The Compassionate Friends Leesburg Chapter |
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