74 Days

I just bought a roundtrip plane ticket going to Omaha, Nebraska since I finally decided to attend the “Keys to Healing Retreat IV.” It will start on the 10^th of August and will end on the 12^th. It’s the only retreat for families who have a missing loved one.

Swanson Retreat Center

I remember when I was talking to my cousin the first two weeks that Steve had been missing. She suggested to have a time for myself away from it all and maybe a retreat will be a good idea. She suggested a few religious retreats but I felt that I needed a retreat that would offer other than that. Even in group therapies, there doesn’t seem to be a group that deals with ambiguous loss. I’d been searching for something like this because it’s my way of taking care of myself and our little munchkin.

There seems to be just a few people that specializes in this kind of situation that’s why I’m looking forward to this retreat, the more I think about it. I’m looking forward to finally meeting Duane Bowers, which according to project Jason is, “the most knowledgeable counselor in the country in respect to understanding the unique emotional issues families of missing persons encounter.” I’m looking forward in meeting the founder of Project Jason, Kelly Jolkowski, who I’d been “chatting” through email. She have a son who has been missing for 11 years and yet, she utilizes her own experience to help out families of Missing Person through this nonprofit organization. She was also the recipient of the 2009 Keeper of the Flame award.

Here’s the information about this retreat: http://projectjason.org/retreat.shtml

Books that I’m planning to read:

Loss, Trauma, And Resilience: Therapeutic Work With Ambiguous Loss by Pauline Boss
Ambiguous Loss: Learning to Live With Unresolved Grief by Pauline Boss
Guiding Your Family Through Loss and Grief by Duane T. Bowers
A Child is Missing: Providing support for families of missing children by Duane T. Bowers

Thank you for your guidance.