Montana-Camp Mak(e) A Dream

Last week was such a great week!  I had a layover in SLC on my way to Montana so of course I had lunch with my siblings that could get away from work!

My dear friend Teresa was waiting for me with open arms and a whole slew of smoke when I arrived in Montana.  Oh, my it was so wonderful to finally meet her in person, since we have been emailing for several years.  She invited me into her beautifully decorated home, fed me delicious food including blueberry crisp that was to die for as we talked and talked and talked!

From Teresa's I spent 4 days with 65 women at Camp Mak(e)-A-Dream, all of which have been treated for ovarian cancer.  Some have been in remission for many years, some have had recurrences and are continuing treatment, while a few others were finished with treatment and have chosen hospice.  Most of the women were over 50, but there were a handful or two of us in our younger years.  Sadly the wild fires brought some awful smoke, which prevented us from enjoying the ropes course. 

The first day we came together we sat in a circle and told a little about ourselves.  And on the last day we sat in this same circle and gave advice to each other. The chef was amazing!  All of our meals were mostly healthy and delicious.  Our cabins were super nice, even though the beds were kind of hard.  Lucky me, I got my own room, which I was happy about.

The retreat included rock climbing which was much harder than I expected, zip-lining which I can now check off my bucket list and several classes where we talked about different aspects of having OVC.  I spent a lot of time finding some hidden painting talent that I never knew I had in the Art Barn, which had more supplies than one could ever imagine.  There I also forged some wonderful friendships. 

We had a Time Travel theme night which was totally awesome. 

And on the last night we had dress up night, art show and an auction.  The sunset on our last night was absolutely breathtaking. 

 

This was a great time for me to re-assess where I am in my life.  I came away with answers to the questions that have been on my mind and many new friendships with some amazingly, inspiring women from age 24-81!  Until next year...