Reunion...Year Two

It is soon coming upon the second "reunion" that I have planned with my other fertility warriors. Those who know me well know that I have been conversing for a few years now on a support forum for people suffering with infertility issues. I have become close with two particular groups of women over that course of time. Last year, I took a leap of faith and agreed to meet up with a fairly large group of these women that stretch from all walks of life. I guess that certain struggles in life give you focus, courage, and a sense of self...at least they did for me. I felt empowered to meet these people, as if they were sisters in some sort of secret club that it took a certain degree of suffrage and challenge in which to be included. This is a special group of people.

On this second reunion we will be once again meeting in Mystic, CT. So many of us hail from the East coast (even more so now), and this seems to be a centralized location for most. We have no special plans. We have no special motives. We simply come together to be reunited in our common ground of struggle, perseverance, strength, faith...

Not all of the group is capable of making the trip, as we stretch from as far as Trinidad and Australia. Others simply do not have the time, nor the economic means to make the trip. Once again, we will all be there in spirit. Some of our group are examples of success stories, in that they have achieved the coveted end of parenthood. Others are success stories in that they have stared down the evil of infertility face to face, and they did not succumb to defeat...even though they might never be parents. Others still suffer on the road to an unknown end. In it all...through it all, we lean on each other for support.

I look forward to this adventure (as my husband so lovingly calls it, a "retreat") again this year. These women hold a special place in my heart, as only those who have walked in our shoes can truly understand the separation, anxiety, emptiness, strength, isolation, empowerment...and all the other random emotions that we feel at any given time. We welcome support and empathy in any form in which it is received...but it truly means so much coming from those who have drudged the path that we continue to travel. See you soon, friends....