tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7386029617300356438.post6478093032425239046..comments2023-10-28T08:26:16.309-07:00Comments on Journey back to Woodson: A question, a photo and an offerMike Rappaporthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15648005587039671935noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7386029617300356438.post-37031698469742167412007-11-08T07:01:00.000-08:002007-11-08T07:01:00.000-08:00hi, dena.burke elementary was at the end? of burke...hi, dena.<BR/>burke elementary was at the end? of burke lake road ??<BR/>i went to the elementary school near fairfax station. one teacher taught both 5th & 6th in the same class room ! <BR/>my parents also sold/relocated just after we graduated in '68.<BR/>yes, divorce is different than a permanent death; a lesser form of soul loss ?!<BR/>dancing is soooooo healing.<BR/>luv, nan.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7386029617300356438.post-90319219313809341922007-11-07T06:22:00.000-08:002007-11-07T06:22:00.000-08:00Thank you for your heartfelt words, Dale & Nan. Be...Thank you for your heartfelt words, Dale & Nan. Bereavement support was a focus of my professional & volunteer work many years before Ron's death. Learning through personal experience continues to evolve, in layers. <BR/><BR/>Dale, I will get around to that Miss Watkins story - soon. Very busy day today.<BR/><BR/>Nan, my own experiences of divorce & losing a husband through death were more different than similar. Both are likely huge losses to every person who has ever lived through them. <BR/><BR/>Good old Burke! My family moved there in 1954 and my parents sold their home when they retired in '88. I have not been back -- I'd rather hold my memories of our old house & forest than to see the expensive community that was built on those acres.<BR/><BR/>In 6th grade, at Burke Elementary, I was one of 5 girls who were best friends. The 2 who did not move away before high school were Gloria LaGarde & Joanna Michie. We each had flower nicknames, given by the group. Mine was DenaGardenia. Cumbersome.<BR/><BR/>~ Dena Ward ClaytonDenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01030405679992584746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7386029617300356438.post-20791612439217364872007-11-06T06:07:00.000-08:002007-11-06T06:07:00.000-08:00dena, i lived on burke lake road; right across fro...dena, i lived on burke lake road; right across from the lake. i would ride my horse on the lake bed before it all filled up !<BR/>burke was so tiny then, just a 4 way stop. my oldest daughter still lives in virginia in lorton & reminds me how much it has changed. rt 123 is 4 lane ?!<BR/>i am sorry to hear about your loss. i wonder if divorce is like a death, also. my ex and i knew each other for 23 years and now, we act like strangers.<BR/>life keeps getting shorter and the only real meaning is found in our relationships and how we feel.<BR/>i feel like i am 17 again; and can relate to the son i am now raising !<BR/>i was a stay at home mom since, my hubby traveled alot and we did the country life with a few critters along with the kids.<BR/>now, i must find a way to make some money and get my health top notch.<BR/>i can do this !<BR/>it is like having second wind !<BR/>from astrology, i know that most of us are going to face our second saturn return. a good thing, since, it means that everything you did the first saturn return [age 28-30], will somewhat repeat itself in these upcoming 2 years.<BR/>kewl.<BR/>so.....way back then, i divorced my first hubby and found myself in RN nursing school.<BR/>anyway....<BR/>i am glad that our class is so talented !!!!!!!!!!!!<BR/><BR/>nan pecsok<BR/><BR/>kelly pace lived out our way, too ?!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7386029617300356438.post-21633683289135577272007-11-05T15:11:00.000-08:002007-11-05T15:11:00.000-08:00Dena - you're not invisible!! I replied to your co...Dena - you're not invisible!! I replied to your comment on Nov. 3 before I saw this one. Still waiting for that story...<BR/><BR/>My sincere condolences on losing your husband. I remember meeting him at the 30th reunion in Reston. You both looked made for each other. I think the book that you are writing will be therapeutical both to you and others. Stay focused. I hope you keep us all apprised.Dale Morganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03643822878497448146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7386029617300356438.post-696409069762732812007-11-05T09:28:00.000-08:002007-11-05T09:28:00.000-08:00Greetings, I'm wondering if others out there might...Greetings, I'm wondering if others out there might have had a similar m.o. at some point early in life. In my memory, throughout high school I was timid & quiet. Reaching out to connect with others was not a regular nor an easy part of my repertoire, so it rarely happened. <BR/><BR/>Perhaps my greatest comfort related to school during the four years at Woodson was discovering modern dance in my junior year. In retrospect, I notice that dance & self-choreography were nonverbal expressions - duh. And, I was happy to be in the dance chorus for Molly Brown.<BR/><BR/>When I dated or went steady, this was often with boys outside of WTW. My boyfriend late '66 to mid-'68 was a year behind us. My family lived out in the country, in Burke. It was a terrific place for my sister and me to grow up, yet we weren't in a housing development where there were other kids to hang out with.<BR/><BR/>I loved attending football & basketball games, sock hops, & most of the semi- & formal dances. My social life included high school events, yet I felt adrift in terms of connecting with most peers in the Class of '67. It's not that I didn't like you -- I didn't know how to let you know me. I felt fairly invisible & didn't know skills for changing that dynamic.<BR/><BR/>(Speaking of invisible, I had a flashback of it this weekend. I entered a comment on 11/3 & don't know if anyone saw it.)<BR/><BR/>Fast-forward. Now, I'm a psychotherapist, cancer guide, writer, dance/movement therapist, & meditation teacher. Specialty areas include grief, support of couples when one partner has a life limiting illness, work with military Veterans, & mentoring women in self-discovery.<BR/><BR/>I'm writing a memoir of some experiences during my husband's illness (lung cancer), dying time, after-death vigil, & approximately first 18 months of widowhood. Ron died March, 2002, & Guidance to write the book came this summer.<BR/><BR/>To pay the bills while finishing this book & co-authoring another with a friend, more of my individual sessions, groups, & classes are done by telephone. I love doing this, & the deep connections that take place among people via tele-conference venue still surprise me. This fall, I expanded my work with widows to include tele-circles called STORY SHARING BY HEART.<BR/><BR/>O.K., this may be more than I said in class throughout 1963-67.<BR/><BR/>With gratitude,<BR/>Dena Ward ClaytonDenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01030405679992584746noreply@blogger.com