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Written by RTF Admin
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Exclusive Shopping Discounts, over $30,000 in Prizes,
Aid ROWAN TREE FOUNDATION and enjoy a fun day for you and your friends!
September 25 will be a day of fun, friends and shopping! What could be better than spending time with your friends doing your favorite pastime, shopping? How about helping local charities who will receive a portion of each $20 ticket that is purchased?
Download EVENT FLYER here!
Get EVENT TICKETS here!
You’ll spend the day benefiting from huge shopping discounts and the chance to win over $30,000 in prizes while enjoying lunch, dessert bar and more during Outlets at Castle Rock’s 5th Annual Shopping Extravaganza on Saturday, September 25.
Tickets are just $20 with a portion of the proceeds benefiting Rowan Tree Foundation. PURCHASE YOUR TICKETS ONLINE HERE, choose the Rowan Tree Foundation as the charity you wish to support and pick up your tickets at will-call in the event court on the East side of the Shopping Center on the day of the event - Saturday morning, September 25 starting at 10 am and going until 8 pm.
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Written by RTF Admin
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Thank you to everyone who was a part of this year's Butterfly Release and Summer Remembrance event on June 26th! Here are some photos that we captured that morning.
Hundreds of these beautiful Monarch butterflies were released during our memorial as we remembered so many children who are no longer with us.
Memorial programs have been mailed this week those of you who could not attend. If you do not receive your program in the next week, please let us know .
If you have pictures you would like to add to our gallery, please email them to us! (Please resize them to 800x600 max size.)
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Written by Kristi Sagrillo
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Dealing with the reality of changing relationships after your child dies.
A wise gardener once told me that if you want a beautiful garden to
grow you must weed it from time to time. Weeding for any gardener,
whether it’s a small flower pot on the front porch or a gorgeous flower
garden in the backyard is an assumed task and occasionally just has to
be done. However, if you neglect to prune the weeds they will
eventually begin to overcrowd or, worse yet, become invasive and try
and take over your entire garden.
After the death of my son, I began to apply this same logic to my own life.
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Written by Corinne O'Flynn
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Do you know me? I used to be so cheerful, the proud owner of an easy smile. I was optimistic and upbeat; pointing out the silver lining behind each of the dark and looming clouds. I was walking across the bridge into motherhood, and felt full of dreams for this baby that was growing inside me, our baby, my baby.
Do you remember me? I used to love going out with my friends, chatting on the phone, hanging out doing nothing, dishing over the gossip columns. I was the one who laughed the hardest when we saw that show together. I was the one who would spend hours shopping with you to find that perfect dress for your special event.
I was the one. I was.
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Written by Corinne O'Flynn
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Reflecting on life after loss.
Although I have experienced the loss of several people who were close to me, it is the loss of my daughter that marks the most dramatic pivot-point of change in my life. This is not to say that my days are consumed by my grief and the loss of Rowan. They certainly used to be, but they are not anymore.
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Written by Sandra Courtney-Wherry
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Experiencing the difficulty of parenting a living child while grieving for the one who has died.
It is 9:30 at night and I am sitting on my couch folding my two year old daughter's laundry and sorting out clothes that she has outgrown. I am also sorting out clothes that show the wear and tear of an active two year old's play. This makes me just like thousands of moms with toddlers that grow faster than we ever imagined. But most other moms are not in tears, sobbing while they hold little pairs of jeans with grass stains.
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Written by Corinne O'Flynn
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Here it comes, the dreaded anniversary. You may be wondering, "How will I deal with it? If the stress today is this bad, how horrible will I feel on the actual date?"
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Written by Corinne O'Flynn
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In 1988, the month of October was named national Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. October 15th has further been recognized as the international day of awareness.
At RTF we acknowledge that all losses are the loss of a child. When it comes to grieving the loss of your child, there is no line drawn to separate miscarriage, stillbirth, newborn, infant, and older child. No matter how long they spent in the womb, or in your arms... it is your child you are missing.
Join us on October 15th at 7PM in your time zone by lighting a candle for remembrance. Read more about the world-wide candle-lighting event!
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Written by Corinne O'Flynn
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Trying to remain objective in the face of emotion
I asked my husband the other day if he thought about our deceased
daughter daily. His response was that he did not. I respect the fact
that he answered the question honestly, considering he must have known
it might upset me. He had an apologetic tone as he did so because I am
sure he knew it was not what I was hoping to hear. I suppressed the
knee-jerk flare up of righteous-indignant defense of our daughter's
memory, and tried instead to make sense of why this is the case. But
since then I had been troubled by the knowledge that she doesn't occupy
his mind in the same way that she does mine.
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Written by Corinne O'Flynn
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"Life changes fast.
Life changes in the instant.
You sit down to dinner
and life as you know it ends."
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Written by Corinne O'Flynn
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What does it mean to be a mother to a child who died?
I remember back in the first summer after our daughter died, about six to nine months after her death - I started feeling "good" again. It wasn't that I was bouncing back 100% or that I felt I had moved on, but there was certainly a shift in my grief where it was no longer all-consuming.
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Written by Corinne O'Flynn
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While at a Mary Kay Cosmetics party, I was guided to my seat along the dining room table and prepared myself to be made over by a woman whose acquaintance I had yet to make. I didn't mind being here, really, although it was tiring listening to her stale sales pitch drone on, feeling a little trapped among fourteen of my family and friends. And yet to my chagrin, I see the long list of items on the form next to me; items that I have enjoyed during my little make-over session. It is a list I intend to purchase.
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Written by Corinne O'Flynn
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Welcome to the RTF Angel Memorial Plaza, in Parker Colorado, USA.
When
you arrive at the park, you'll walk along the tree-lined path that
follows Cherry Creek. You'll pass the picnic tables and visitor
shelter. Continue north and you'll see the town's arboretum and all
the young trees that are growing there in a natural setting. If you
wander through there you'll learn the names of just about every tree
that is native to the area. Cross the old steel bridge and you'll find
an open field with horseshoe prints from rides on the equestrian
trail. Look to your left and you'll see an angel.
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