The Sunrise Story

Yesterday I got to spend the day with my friend Stacey , and her two amazing children. I'd met her daughter before and this time I got to meet her brand new baby boy. They live close to Hershey, PA so we spent the day there. Stacey blogged about our day together here . We had lots of fun catching up and spending time with the kids. Seeing Hershey and Chocolate World through the eyes of a six-year-old is magical! I marvel at the friendships that have started because of an online connection. Twitter and blogging have introduced me to amazing people. Sometimes those connections turn to deeper friendships. Stacey and I met online through blogging. The first time we got to meet IRL (that's in real life) was at NCTE a few years ago. Since then we have attended a writing retreat together and gotten together a couple of times on our own. Here's an opportunity that would have been missed had our online community not existed or if I hadn't participated ...

The idea of tribes has been bouncing around in my head lately. I've written about it before ( here and here ), but I feel like my idea of a tribe has broadened. Reading this slice titled, Villages , made me think and challenged my idea of a village or a tribe. I guess, before, I always thought of a tribe as one group of people, but this blogger defined all of the villages, or tribes, in her life. That fits. What tribes support me? This tribe of bloggers. A tribe of teachers. There's a tribe of church friends...and more. I need to remember to open my eyes and see those people in my life. My niece and nephew are part of my tribe. Sometimes being single and childless means I feel alone more often than others. It's can be a struggle, but when I think about my life in terms of tribes, I feel the aloneness slip away. I'm grateful for the people in my tribeS. They are near and far. They provide love and support. They make sure that I'm not alone, not reall...

Thank you to Stacey, Betsy, Dana, Tara, Beth, Anna, Kathleen & Deb for this amazing platform to write and share writing! What a wonderful community you've created! I'm honored to be part of it. Join us at Two Writing Teachers . http://asunshinemission.com/tag/motivational-quote/  Who said this? It's everywhere now. It's valuable advice I've been given and followed...and it's changed my life.    What does tribe mean ? In biology terms, it's above genus and just below family. It also means, a distinctive, close-knit group. YES! These people who make up my tribe are as close to family as I can get and they are certainly distinctive. A tribe protects and guards. A tribe loves and supports. A tribe nudges and encourages. A tribe is there...always there. I love my tribe. I'm grateful for my tribe. I'm not sure if they (many of you are reading this) truly understand how much you mean to me a...

Sharing my slice of life (#slice2013) over at  Two Writing Teachers.   Please join us! Every morning I am greeted with a couple of friendly emails. I receive one from the universe... It never fails to make me smile...the idea of the universe thinking enough of me to send me an email. The other email I receive every morning is from author,  Patti Digh . Those emails include a rock with a phrase or word painted on it. Last week one of those emails really stayed with me. It was this one:  "Create your own tribe." YES! Reflecting on 2013 I was struck by how comfortable I was in my own skin...FINALLY...after 41 years. I felt at peace with me. Without knowing it, I've been searching for a reason why. Why did it finally feel ok to be me? Why am I ok with showing others the real me?  I created my own tribe. Little by little. Step by step.  Some of you are part of my virtual tribe. Finding my PLN on  Twitter  and my blogg...