Posts from — January 2012

A beautiful story from Trevor that really illustrates the impact his presentations have on kids:

Last week I was reminded of the power of friendship during our final day in Hawaii. After our presentation a young boy came up to me and thanked me profusely for coming to his school and helping them with their feelings. He was fighting back tears so hard he was trembling.

“I really miss my dad,” he said, his bottom lip quivering. “He’s been deployed so many times. And he’s gone again. I’m scared he may get hurt or…or …(deep painful sigh)… or he may never come back.”

A lone tear escaped, without permission, from his welling eyes.

“It just hurts so much,” he said, quickly rubbing the tear from his cheek and glancing around to make sure none of his classmates had seen him cry. “It really hurts.”

I crouched down and looked directly into his eyes and said, “I’m proud of you man. It takes a brave person to express their real feelings, like you’re doing right now, especially in front of friends and classmates. It takes a lot of courage. Seriously.”

He cocked his head. “For real?”

“I sometime cry when I’m hurting,” I said. “And I’m a grown man, dude.”

“You do?”

“Uh huh.” I replied.

The Power of Friendship

And then the tears came. Oh my goodness. Big painful tears spilled from the little guys eyes and rolled down his ruddy cheeks framed by his long, tousled, hair.

You could instantly see the relief on his face. Such relief. It was amazing.

Then something remarkable happened.

His buddy (a River Phoenix look-alike) who was standing next to him, put his arm around the boy and said, “It’s okay. You helped me when my dad was gone. I’ll help you. Okay?”

The crying boy nodded.

“I’m with you all the way,” said the other boy, patting him on the back and putting his arm around him again. “I’m with you all the way.”

I said goodbye to the boys and went back to the stage to get my bag. I didn’t realize I was crying until a little girl, who was also in the presentation, handed me a crumpled up Kleenex and smiled, knowingly.

(Thanks Woody Englander for capturing the scene with your camera as the kids walked back to class and thanks, to my social work sidekick, Stephanie, for helping us make the first leg of our tour such a great success.)

Trevor and the Comfort Crew have had a busy start to 2012!  Check out this article written in the Hawaii Marine about Trevor’s visit there:

Trevor Romain’s Comfort Crew announces the With You All The Way! Symposium to be held in San Antonio, Texas February 21, 2012.  The purpose, spirit, and design of the Symposium is to educate and inform the general public about the unique challenges confronting military families; challenges specifically related to separation and reintegration resulting from extended and multiple deployments.

Read more about the event and how you can participate