I don't write on my blog as much anymore......sometimes there are days I should. Writing is therapeutic.
This weekend was our Georgia Hands & Voices, Guide By Your Side Retreat in Blue Ridge. On the way up, I had a moment of self-doubt as I now lead the program as coordinator. This was my first training where I was in charge of everything. I wanted to call my old boss, Terri, & say, "Tell me I can do this", but I didn't need to, because as I pulled up on the cabin I saw a car already there. Terri had come up for the night to bond & support!! By the end of a work retreat or a conference I can barely think straight, but I always leave feeling supported. I am always comforted & reminded that I have a mama tribe. The stats & the situations we discuss about our Deaf/Hard of Hearing children can be overwhelming. You know those phrases, "Practice what you preach, Work for a living, live to work?" Well......I live my work. I provide families with resources & support along their hearing loss journey. I leave my desk & provide resources/support to my family who has 2 Hard of Hearing children living in it. It's exhausting to live what you work. I have learned to navigate the parent hat vs. the professional hat, but it's always something of a challenge. At the end of every Hands & Voices Leadership conference we do the Naming Circle. I decided to integrate that sacred tradition into our GA H&V chapter training closing. It's like saying "Welcome Home"...a place where your heart is. I tried to put into words how it works:
Closing-
The H&V Naming Circle
The
tradition that closes every H&V Leadership Conference!
We gather
in a circle & hold hands.
We speak
and/or Sign the names of our Deaf/Hard of Hearing Children.
It’s a
speaking into existence a promise to never forget them & to always advocate
for them.
We stand in
a circle to see that our bond can never be broken.
We hold
hands so you can feel that you have someone on this journey with you.
Remember:
One of the greatest strengths of a nonprofit is that you don’t work for a
living, you work for a cause. One H&V Dad quoted a movie saying, “What we
do here echos throughout eternity.”
We also had some new moms that we were training to be Parent Guides. They had never heard of the poem, "Welcome to Holland." I was given this poem in the beginning of our journey with Amelia & it was very helpful. It's all about perspective. So here it is:
Lastly, I wanted to share a few pictures of my children. They have grown so much! 9, 11, & 13!
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