MY WRITER FAMILY

Yesterday I wrote about writer friends. Today I led/taught the Word Weavers, my creative writing group at the Joslyn Senior Center in Escondido, California. This group makes up my writing family.

You've read about my diverse students before. Individually, they write in every genre, and write well. They read their work each Wednesday; some ask for critiques but many merely want to share their work with their fellow writers. Each time we meet, I am impressed by the great stories, the variety of writing--short stories, poems, memoirs, and articles--written by these special attendees. This sharing of our work and snippets of life is what makes us a family, a writing family.

Angie writes funny, quirky pieces, loves to dance and waltzed down the aisle with Peter since becoming a member. Sylvia led the group for seventeen years, writes great stories with "twisty" endings and lovely poetry published in Cappers Magazine. We offered our love and prayers and shoulders to lean on over the last months as she lost her lovely daughter after a long battle with cancer. Gwenn tap dances through our lives, belly dances for a lark, writes histories of her possessions and odes to a clock-making class while keeping that great smile for us all. Joanie writes memoirs, offers tales of raising six children all over the world and, along with Gwenn and I, share a history of breast cancer. We are a family of survivors.

Charlotte, our 90+ matriarch, gives us delightful children's mysteries and life-learning stories, and keeps us all on our toes with her zest for life. Arlene, with her infectious laugh and charming Teddy Bear stories became a first-time published writer early in her membership in this family; we all celebrated with her. Shirley shares her lovely "histories" of Escondido and its people, and the seasons which appeared in the local newspaper, and gives us a glimpse of her childhood in Canada. Bernice is our plant lady and the finder of good nutritional information on the Interent, plus the writer of sweet children's stories and retold Korean folktales. Rose has chosen to share her family as the nine of them grew up, and other tales of travels with her dear Bill. Eileen, with her wonderful laugh and beaming smile, is a much-published author of memories read in "Good Old Days Magazine." Fran has taught us what it means to run a horse stable and bakes the best rye bread in town. They all are dear sisters.

I have been fortunate to have them as listeners, observers, and able critiquers of my work. They have been so supportive of my attempts at keeping the group moving along, and of my writing. They boost me up, make me think I can get this book and novella I have shared with them published one day. They offer their friendship and love and I know they will be here for me whenever I need to lean on them in the ups and downs of life, both personal and creative.

It's not just the writing that makes this a great family. It's the feeling and compassion and love that goes into the connections we have with each other. We have faced life and death, illness and happiness together, attended funerals and weddings, laughed over the injustices of old age, and cried over the illnesses that have prevented some members to continue attending. We reach out to each other in times of need, and in times of joy. We are close knit, and I am proud to be allowed to be a member of this writer family.

I hope you are blessed with such a family.