One of the first activities I joined was a craft session. Everyone was meeting in the clubhouse and you could bring a craft to work on or something to share. I showed up without any crafts to share, although I had brought some things for myself to work on this trip. I just didn't have the materials to share it with everyone else. So I showed up empty-handed but that didn't matter. They were working on some pillows that were just tied together without any sewing. There were two or three ladies that seem to already know each other and had been doing this for a few weeks already. They told me about another lady who bought all these materials and stuffing to make these tied pillows and she left it here for everyone else when she was moving on. So I sat with them and listened to them and talked with them and made a little heart pillow that was lime green on one side and red on the other. It doesn't look like a real professional product but that's not the point; the point was I got to sit in community with these ladies and share some stories. Turns out we each had some things in common. They liked wine and they like to have parties and potlucks. We ended up planning a potluck for Saturday night followed by a bonfire. Most of them had some sort of military or law enforcement background with their husbands. They all wanted to get some exercise in the next morning we went walking around the lake getting in a couple miles. That led to invitations for more walking and possibly a wine tasting excursion although that hasn't happened yet. One of the ladies was in the nail manicure business and had brought some samples to try. I didn't get to try them that day but we exchanged Facebook information and soon we were following each other on Facebook. When the opportunity came up for another nail session, I knew I was in! I wanted to try it.
So I took my laundry down to the clubhouse and started a load and then my friend showed up and we ended up being the only two there to do the nails that day. As it happened it was a perfect chance for us to talk, because on our last walk we were talking about spiritual things and visits from beyond after death. I shared that I had lost a son and she briefly acknowledged that she had also lost a son. So today gave us a chance to discuss that commonality and share our stories as we also gave ourselves a new manicure. We made a very comfortable and deep connection through our shared loss.
Although the circumstances of the loss of our sons was different, it was the same in that they were both tragedies and we had learned how to move on through life, never forgetting our children and still celebrating them along the way.
I think I've made several new friends here that will probably stay in my life for a while, even if it's virtually on Facebook. We are all traveling in RVs, and while some are still working at careers online and maintain a home base, others are full-time RV'ers. As my husband and I expand and explore our travels, we may be running into these same people or even meet up with them from time to time and that would be really cool.
