I have been attending the PHA Seatac/DesMoines support group meeting for about four years off and on. Now I am coleading our little group. Each year we have an annual picnic, and I have organized the last three. It is my favorite meeting to plan.
The first year of organizing the picnic, I wasn't really sure what to do, and well - it was a bit of a mess. A few days prior to the picnic I had printed up some direction signs, and I placed them all along the route into the park. No one really saw the signs, and it was quite a bit of work. When we arrived at the park the tables were wet. I haddn't planned on wet tables in the middle of summer, and haddn't thought to get table cloths or anything. Luckily there was a few of us with blankets in our car and everyone brought a little something to eat. Even though chaotic, it was fun to get together, and was the first meeting I had put together.
Last year, I happened to be running behind to the picnic. So much for being a great organizer and planner right? Well I got to the picnic site just before everyone else did. While the tables were not wet this year, it was scorching hot out, and we all had to work together to pull the tables to a more shady area. Can you imagine a bunch of disabled people trying to move a heavy table? An unfortunate drawback to moving towards the shade was that now our group members had to walk quite a ways further. Summer can often be a tough time for people with pulmonary hypertension. The summer heat and humidity basically makes every symptom we experience worse. Let alone lugging around picnic tables and walking an extra couple hundred feet. We had a great turn out, and enjoyed catching up itch each other.
This year I decided I wanted to really make the picnic special, and hopefully get more than just our support group involved. Since we do the picnic every year, I wasn't worried about purchasing a few supplies to save for the future. Each year I would like to make the picnic better and better. The picnic isn't a time where we are trying to raise funds, or raise awareness. It is a time to come together and simply bond as a group. For this year, I had asked everyone to invite some of their family and friends. My goals is that we can all kind of get to know one another on a more personal level as opposed to simply seeing someone once a month at a support group meeting.
Luckily for me I had invited some of my friends and family, because I started to freak out when absolutely everyone was late this year. This time I brought some muscle. Hubbs and I arrived at the park about an hour early. We got everything set up, and it looked great. Then we sat back to wait, and wait. The Seatac/DesMoines group is a smaller group, but I had assumed that if everyone brought a person or two there would be a pretty decent amount of people. I started to worry that maybe some of the members were lost, but most of them had been to the park before.
Finally people started to trickle in, and in the end we had a pretty decent sized group. About half the people who came were my friends and family. The people we love are instrumental in our fight. I am blessed to have a fantastic support system, and that fact makes my heart smile every day. Some day I hope that we can build up our little group, and reach more people with PH providing them with hope. I hope that I can act as an example, and that other memebers in the PH community here in WA especially, will get their families more involved in the PHight. United we stand, right?
Last year, I happened to be running behind to the picnic. So much for being a great organizer and planner right? Well I got to the picnic site just before everyone else did. While the tables were not wet this year, it was scorching hot out, and we all had to work together to pull the tables to a more shady area. Can you imagine a bunch of disabled people trying to move a heavy table? An unfortunate drawback to moving towards the shade was that now our group members had to walk quite a ways further. Summer can often be a tough time for people with pulmonary hypertension. The summer heat and humidity basically makes every symptom we experience worse. Let alone lugging around picnic tables and walking an extra couple hundred feet. We had a great turn out, and enjoyed catching up itch each other.
This year I decided I wanted to really make the picnic special, and hopefully get more than just our support group involved. Since we do the picnic every year, I wasn't worried about purchasing a few supplies to save for the future. Each year I would like to make the picnic better and better. The picnic isn't a time where we are trying to raise funds, or raise awareness. It is a time to come together and simply bond as a group. For this year, I had asked everyone to invite some of their family and friends. My goals is that we can all kind of get to know one another on a more personal level as opposed to simply seeing someone once a month at a support group meeting.
Luckily for me I had invited some of my friends and family, because I started to freak out when absolutely everyone was late this year. This time I brought some muscle. Hubbs and I arrived at the park about an hour early. We got everything set up, and it looked great. Then we sat back to wait, and wait. The Seatac/DesMoines group is a smaller group, but I had assumed that if everyone brought a person or two there would be a pretty decent amount of people. I started to worry that maybe some of the members were lost, but most of them had been to the park before.
Finally people started to trickle in, and in the end we had a pretty decent sized group. About half the people who came were my friends and family. The people we love are instrumental in our fight. I am blessed to have a fantastic support system, and that fact makes my heart smile every day. Some day I hope that we can build up our little group, and reach more people with PH providing them with hope. I hope that I can act as an example, and that other memebers in the PH community here in WA especially, will get their families more involved in the PHight. United we stand, right?
The park we have the picnic at is perfect. It is flat with decent parking, nice grass and a beach. Lack of shade is an issue, so I think in the future we will need to borrow a canopy or umbrellas. Sometimes being a support group leader can be discouraging, like when everyone is late to a meeting, but with slow and steady determination and purpose I know we will make a difference.
I have attached a Vlog about getting ready for the picnic and some fun photos from the day of. Please enjoy and give it a like!
I have attached a Vlog about getting ready for the picnic and some fun photos from the day of. Please enjoy and give it a like!
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