Camp Good Grief - Day 1

When I met Jamey, he told me his story.  He told me about losing Michelle and what he and Brenna had been though since Jesus took her home.  He told me about the counseling he and Brenna received and how thankful he was for that time.  He loved the counselor Brenna had and felt as though she really benefited from her time there.

Fast forward 3 1/2 years .....

The week after Jesus took Jamey home, I called the Center for Good Grief.  Because Jamey and I had conversations about their counseling, I knew who I needed to call.  I spoke with sweet Angela, who was Brenna's counselor back in 2010.  She, like everyone else, could not believe what had happened.  She immediately told me about a camp that she recommended along with counseling for Brenna.

About a month ago, Brenna and I had to attend a meeting for this camp.  She got to meet the kids and I got to meet some of the parents and guardians.  When the meeting was over, Brenna came running up to me saying she had met a couple of friends.  She was so excited.  She could not believe that other kids had lost parents as well.  Bless her sweet heart, she thought she was the only one who had ever lost a parent, much less both parents.  She also said the same thing to the counselor at her next session.  She could not believe how many kids were in her same situation.

Humbling.

As we were leaving the meeting, I ran into two sweet friends who are actually counselors/buddies at Camp Good Grief.  I had no idea they would be there and was so relieved to know Brenna would be in amazing hands.  Another Jesus thing, friends!

Yesterday was Day 1 of Camp Good Grief.

When I dropped her off, she was excited to reconnect with the friends she met before and see what was in store at this camp.  I am not sure that she actually knew about the 'therapy' part of camp or not.  Therapy is probably the wrong word, but there are activities designed for the kids to learn about grief and how to express it.  But, there is also a TON of fun planned for them as well.

This is the schedule for Day 1:

*  They rode a big charter bus to the camp site where they got to know each other and sang silly camp songs.
*  They had ice breakers, snacks, and small group grief sessions.  They learned what grief was and how to start talking about their feelings.
*  After lunch the made their 'Dream Catchers'.  More on that in a minute.
*  In the afternoon, they did arts and crafts, water games, swimming, etc.
*  They ended with a camp closing music activity.

It was a big day!!!  And she had so much fun!  She talked about it all night.  Well, she mostly talked about how cool the cabins were and how she wanted to have her birthday party there next year!  LOL!

Dream Catcher
A dream catcher is an ancient tool used to help assure good dreams to those that sleep underneath them.  A dream catcher is usually placed over your bed where the morning light can hit it.  As you sleep, all of your dreams from the spirit world have to pass through the dream catcher.  Only good dreams can pass through the hole in the center while the bad dreams are caught in the webbing and are destroyed by the morning light.

It sounds a little weird to me, but I believe that the intent of the dream catcher is for those kids who are having bad dreams about the loss of their loved one.  Brenna told me she is not having nightmares (thank the Lord), so I am not sure how much this will benefit her.  But, I love the idea.  A counselor told me this morning that she had kids come back and tell her years later they still have their dream catcher and how much it has benefited them over the years.  Awesome!

Day 2 started today and Brenna was really excited to go back!  I will share more about Day 2 tomorrow.  They have tons of activities planned for them today!  I cannot wait to hear how it goes.  Brenna had to take pictures along today, so that always sparks tons of emotions.  I am praying for all of the kids, counselors, and buddies today as they continue to guide these sweet babes along their grief journey.

I will get to attend the Closing Session tomorrow afternoon.  Pictures to come.