One Parent's Letter to Camp Sunshine
A Poem for Camp Sunshine
Sometimes God uses people,
That we don't even know
To completely change the way we think,
Or encourage us to grow.
Some are sent to inspire,
Others to lift up...
Others, still, we learn from,
Because their life is all "amuck".
Some just talk, some just listen
Others simply smile,
A gentle touch, a warm embrace,
Emotions in a pile.
These people often never know
The difference they have made.
So wrapped up in day to day,
Their blessings seem to fade.
I've found a place where so many meet,
And leave a piece behind.
A place of peace and solitude...
A different state of mind.
It's a place where families come together
And share their deepest fears,
Their nightmares of a chronic illness
Spanning many years.
A place where "sick" kids come to play,
All differences left behind.
And learn that life isn't all that cruel...
Many blessings you can find.
Camp Sunshine teaches all of us,
We need others to help us grow.
They give a week of worriless fun...
With many volunteers in tow.
People who give freely of themselves
For one entire week.
Gently lifting each of us
Until weve reached our peak.
Feeding, supporting, comforting us
When things are at their worst
Blessing us so abundantly
We feel that we may burst.
Loving our children like their own...
Looking beyond the scars.
Healing them from the inside out
And teaching them to go far.
I never dreamed in these five years
Of surgeries, tubes, and meds;
That people would come and understand it all...
These feelings in my head.
And give my child a week of joy
That "normal" kids have known.
A week of comfort and of skills
To take with her until shes grown.
How can you begin to ever thank
A place that does ALL this?
Hoping more families can experience this gift...
THAT'S my deepest wish.
As I sit upon a rock,
Sun high above the lake.
A gentle rain cries all my tears...
A rainbow takes their place.
I'm reminded of all my blessings,
Some are big and others small.
And I thank God for giving Camp Sunshine,
A place that understands it all.
By Christiane Osowiecki, mother of Gabrielle (a kidney transplant, age 5), and Joshua (a compassionate sibling, age 4).
All of us forever changed. Thank you.
July 12, 2001.
