Together We Rise: Speechless

Recently a friend on Twitter tweeted to me, “You’re not subtle, are you?” Subtle is something I’ve never been called. Likewise, speechless is a word that’s never been used to describe me. Until tonight.

Tonight I read something that left me utterly speechless, tears rolling down my face.

It all started a short while ago when I reached out to my new friends on Twitter. In the few short weeks that I’ve spent engaging the women and men who “tweet,” I’ve come to learn that Twitter is nothing short of a brain trust. Each day you will find quite possibly the finest collection of marketers, writers, editors, and social media gurus, a group so impressive it could make your head spin. So far my twitterpals have helped me with issues ranging from RSS Feed information to a great banana bread recipe (thanks, Amy Clarke!). But what I noticed as I engaged people in conversation and sat quietly following what others said to each other was that something revolutionary was happening.

For no reason other than the sheer joy of people reaching out to help each other, Twitter users take people from what they are now to what they can be.

Several months ago I conceived an idea to write a book about women and the quest to have it all. I believed this quest to be akin to searching for Bigfoot, the Lochness Monster, and the lost city of Atlantis. But then I met the women on Twitter, and not only did my idea of what it means to “have it all” change, but I met for the first time women who have it all.

And they are helping each other get it.

Suddenly my book idea morphed into a study not only of women striving unsuccessfully to balance work and family, making painful choices and sacrifices along the way, but into a celebration of women using social media to band together in a cohesive community to achieve personal dreams in a way never before seen in this country. This is nothing short of a revolution, and I needed to write about it.

And that’s when I reached out to the Twitterverse. In an earlier post you can see my request for women to participate in my study – nearly 50 have answered the call – and one woman who signed up quickly and enthusiastically was Tina from NewOldMomsClub.Com. In the flutter of e-mails regarding the book project, there was a direct message from Tina asking if I’d be her Friday Friend. I knew little about it, but jumped right in. It’s been quite a week: my two year old baby started pre-school, I watched and worried as Ike moved towards family and friends in Texas, I began my book writing journey – a dream I’ve had my whole life.

And then I turned on the computer tonight to find this:

http://www.newoldmomsclub.com/

So with tears streaming down my face, I get it. I get it. We can have it all – together.

Together we rise.