I spent most of today putting together workshop folders for the upcoming Retrouvaille. We will have 22 couples, probably a few more will register by the weekend. It's a lot of work. I never thought about how that notebook, folder and pen appeared on my chair when I was a participant. I gave no thought to the people who made the weekend possible, and cared enough about my marriage to take time out of their lives to conduct the weekends. And now I am doing it. The baton (and boxes of and boxes of stuff) has been passed to the next generation to continue helping couples learn to get along together in a tough world.
Their dedication isn't just for the weekend. They are still praying for you and all the lives they have touched. If you have an opportunity to talk to them again, you should reach out to them. They are still there to help you.
Sara, You are a truly wonderful and sincere person. It's so nice of you to give your time to help others restore their marriages not only at Retro but on here as well.
Hugs, Yoyo
Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they're supposed to help you discover who you are. -- Bernice Johnson Reagon
Last night was a big night for us. We welcomed 22 couples to the Tampa Retrouvaille. A group of us graduates went down to welcome them and show them around. It was so good to see the team again -- the three couples who lead the program. We are so lucky to have one particular couple. They are so amazing to listen to and their love for each other shines so clearly through their eyes. The husband N, was saying how rewarding doing the weekends are for them, because they get to see the transformation in the couples. I asked when the transformation usually happens. N smiled, and told me this story, as an example of a transformation.
Ten years ago, N and his wife V were welcoming a new group to the weekend, when someone came running in and said, "You have to come outside, a wife is running down her husband with the car!" So they ran outside, and sure enough, there was the husband looking very shaken up in the middle of the driveway, and the wife was in the car in the circular drive, coming back around. V ran around to the driver's side of the car, and asked if she could talk to the wife. The wife said "OK", and they went off to the side and talked for about an hour. They came back and the wife said that she would stay for the weekend if she could have a separate room at the opposite end of the building from her husband. Then she changed her mind and said, "No. The minute I walk into that room, he will leave." So N told her, "No. Because he is going into his room, and locking the door and giving me the key." So they did. And the couple went through the weekend. On Sunday, during the wrap-up session, the wife stood up and said, "I know you think that I was trying to run him down with the car. I wasn't. But I wasn't trying to miss him either. We have been separated, and we are scheduled to be divorced on Wednesday. But tomorrow we are calling our lawyers and cancelling the divorce." Today this same couple volunteers as presenters for Retrouvaille.
