Hola Folks,<P>A friend from work who is lurking "Drained but Trying", has asked me to post this question regarding Retrouvaille:<P>1. How do you get in contact w/Retrouvaille?<BR>2. How much does a week-end cost?<BR>3. What exactly do they do there?<BR>4. Where are they located?<BR>5. What are the requirements, if any, to sign-up?<P>6. Has anyone that has been have feedback they can give on how it help your marriage?<P>Thanks in advance Fellow MB's<P>Jo<P>------------------<BR>Josie_Res@Hotmail.com<P>"Remain flexible like a reed, as opposed to an oak which can snap in the wind"

Try the web page: <A HREF="http://www.retrouvaille.org" TARGET=_blank>www.retrouvaille.org</A> <P>It has all the information about schedules of weekends all around the US and Canada along with more general information.<P>Good luck !

Hi Jo,<P>Jane gave you the Retrouvaille website; a great place to start. I don't think cost is mentioned on the website. They usually ask for a deposit (ours was $50) to hold a room for you. On the last day, they give each couple an envelope, tell you what the weekend costs (I think ours was $250) and ask you to contribute whatever you can or want or think it was worth. My WS husband (who is also pretty frugal) wrote a check for 50% more than they asked (so that other couples could be helped).<P>We didn't do the follow-up weekends (we should have!). I'm going to suggest to him that we do it again this fall (when they have as session near us).<P>As for requirements, I know the website notes that it is for married couples (not living togethers). Also, they suggest that if another person is involved or substance abuse is present, these should be taken care of first. I know my H was semi-involved with the OW at the time we attended, but he claimed to me and the interviewing couple that he wasn't. The weekend still helped us.<P><P>------------------<BR>RobinAnn<P>*********<P>Miracles occur naturally as expressions of love. The real miracle is the love that inspires them. In this sense everything that comes from love is a miracle.<P>Marianne Williamson

Hi Jo and RobinAnn,<P>RobinAnn: Did you know that once you have been to a Retrouvaille weekend you are permitted to go to as many follow-ups as possible as many times as you need it? You and your husband do not have to attend a weekend again in order to do that (although it is a nice way to get away and become intimate). If you have been able to stay close in intimacy, I would suggest going to the next set of follow-ups. We went to all the follow-ups and it helped us stay on track. We are now in the process of writing our own talks and will be presenting this summer. We can't thank Retrouvaille enough. I hope you can get to those follow-ups. Do you know that there are CORE meetings too? That is for couples like us that have finished the follow-ups and would like to keep it fresh. It meets once a month and there is a presenter or a video tape and of course socialization. I am sorry to say that we have not been to a CORE meeting yet. There is no Retrouvaille closer than 3 hours away. When we were in the program, we made an effort to make it to all the meetings (even if my husband had to hide my keys to keep me here). But the CORE's are on Friday nights and we can't possibly get there. As it was, when it was on the weekends, we would get up at 4:00 in the morning and leave by 5:00 am to be there on time. It was a committment (not always easy) but we did it. I hope you can find another session that would fit your needs. It really helped and we delved into more on the post-weekend sessions. I am happy Retrouvaille helped youl.<P>Jo: RobinAnn is right about the $50.00 deposit. Each weekend has a different amount set for the total cost because they are at different locations and such. Ours was 400.00 and we paid 1000.00. We couldn't really afford that much but we were so happy at the end of the weekend, we wanted someone else to be able to recieve such a blessing even if they could not afford it. We wanted to pay for someone else to experience this too. So it depends on where you go. Please, if you think you can't afford it, go anyway. We are now involved in the Retrouvaille organizationa and we know first hand that nothing is expected. If you need help in your marriage, don't let the money hold you back. We don't ask you to even discuss it. You are asked to put whatever you like in an envelope (whatever you can afford, not any certain amount) and simply give the envelope to us on your way out. We do all sorts of fundraising to offset the cost for people who may not be able to cover the whole amount. On our weekend, the presiding priest even said that he has had homeless couples on his weekends and he wants to embrace everyone who wants to come. This is a wonderful program and it should not be missed due to financial difficulties. I wish you all the best.<P>Jane<P>

I'm interested to try a retrouvaille weekend with my S. Could anyone tell me if this exercise involves prayers? What sort of activities does it involve? I'd appreciate any specific information that is not mentioned on the website.