Coming together for one of our own

It hasn't been that long ago that I started this blog, and yet I feel like I have known many of you forever. I fully expected blogging to be fun, a release, a creative outlet. But what I didn't expect was the sense of community that comes from blogging. I (and my children) have received birthday greetings from all over the world, I have been part of weddings, oohed and aahed over new babies and commiserated with people from all over as part of my blogging experience. And I have been overwhelmed with the heartfelt responses to posts all over the blogosphere. It is amazing to me how bloggers reach out across the miles to offer congratulations, comfort, humor, and thoughtful insight. It is our goal as bloggers to reach out to readers and touch them, strike a chord, inspire nostalgia, to make others laugh or cry (or scream) with us, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised that we develop relationships that are deeper than you would imagine based on keystrokes and cyberspace.

There are several notable examples that I have seen in my short time on the blogosphere- the outpouring of love and excitement of readers about Shauna's wedding- so much so that readers felt they should be invited to her wedding. A fellow blogger was so touched by reading Shauna's posts that she sent her red cowboy boots (you'd have to read the posts) to wear for her wedding. When my doughter was sent to Columbus for a rotation in her Nurse Anesthesia program, Columbus Foodie and Restaurant Widow provided recommendations for places to eat and things to do, and even invited Katie to be part of their Columbus food blogger get-together! While there are instances of nasty comments, food bloggers are a caring community, who put a human face (and feelings) on the phenomenon of food blogging.

Which brings me to the purpose of this post. Many of you may know Anne, of Cooking with Anne and Cookies to Caviar. She was one of the first regular visitors to my blog, a sweet and amazing woman with seven children (who still has her sanity). Anne's husband, an iron worker, suffered a serious fall (26 feet) and was very gravely injured. He is in a hospital away from Anne and the children, and while recent news has been encouraging, he has a long road to recovery ahead. Anne has posted updates and asked for our prayers to help her family through a very dificult time. But bloggers are a practical bunch. Several fellow bloggers(Lots of Kids, White Trash Mom) have brought Anne's plight to readers' attention on their blogs and suggested that people who want to help can make a donation via Anne's webpage through Paypal to help Anne and her family have one less thing to worry about. To me it made perfect sense. If I were near to Anne, I would cook food, or offer to babysit, or drive her back and forth to the hospital. But distance prevents me from offering much physical comfort beyond prayers and encouraging emails. While money will not alleviate Anne's worries about her husband, it can help ensure that money is not an additional worry when she has so much already on her mind. So if you have been touched by a post, laughed out loud or shed a tear over something you have read, I would ask you to make a donation, however small, to show Anne how much we care for her and her family and support her during this very difficult time. An outpouring of even small donations (whatever you can afford) will provide not only financial support, but will demonstrate to Anne the power of this community, and the love and support that we can offer to one of our own.