A Retreat to Remember

After months of planning, hours of meeting, and too many chocolate chip cookies from Costco to count, our retreat day finally arrived.

We ended up welcoming two dozen adoptive parents of persons with FASD to our "Growing Together" Retreat... a jam-packed day designed to give a break, a voice, and a little bit of reprieve to parents who very much deserve it. They earn it every day.

Three of my sibs have the diagnosis, and while that was our "normal" from the moment they joined our family, it was always clear to me that the FASD world was special. You had to live it to understand it.

In the months after we joined the FASD club, I saw my parents (for the first time) as human. They couldn't fix every problem. They couldn't anticipate every behaviour. Typical strategies were useless. And no one from the club was there immediately to say "That's normal. That's not your fault. That's the way things are. Here, let me help."

I think they could have used a day like yesterday. It would have helped remind them that, even after FASD became our everyday, my parents were still unique people!  

The families who joined us yesterday had varying stories; some had young children who were recently diagnosed, others had lived in the FASD world for decades. All were a joy to welcome and visit with.

Thanks to all for joining us, and to the many supporters who helped us host the event. It was a wonderful day to be part of.