When Dave and I bought the motorcycle only three months after Curtis' death last year, we didn't know that it would literally save our lives. We found it very therapeutic to get out and just ride, putting on 10,000 mile last summer. But the day that the Tribute To The Troops came to our house in September, we both knew they were the group we needed to be part of.
This past weekend, we traveled to Chicago with some of the Tribute riders to visit families. Illinois is starting their own chapter, and the Minnesota group is helping to get it started. Although Dave and I had gone on the remembrance ride this Spring, the first visits have a different impact and feel, so I felt as if we were going for the first time. Hearing stories from other riders, it sounds like every time feels like the first because every visit is as different from each other as the families.
We visited four families. As a Gold Star mother, I know the pain they are still feeling and how overwhelming the anticipation of what to expect from this group can be. At each visit, I got those same feelings. What would I say, how would they react? But the mother to mother embrace, the knowledge of our pain, was the same each time. I think sometimes we feel that we are the only ones going through this, or any of our life's troubles, and having that connection is powerful and healing.
Between the excessive heat and the emotions of the day, I was exhausted. I could have fallen asleep on my feet by the end of the day, but it was worth it. I get the chance to be with some amazing people, all with hearts of gold. They encourage us to talk of Curtis with comfort. We are fortunate to have found an outlet to make a tragic event into something good.
Thank you to all my new friends.
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