Thanks to all the women who contributed to the August /September Writing Contest.

Contributors were asked to tell about a time a friend healed them, or they were instrumental in healing a friend.

I'm happy to share the winner is from our forums. Congratulations to TVC150. Her story will appear on the site next week.

TVC150, please contact me and I'll send you the $20.00 gift certificate as soon as I hear from you.

whooo hooo TVC! You go gal....can't wait to see what you wrote! Congrats!

JJ

Me too. Me too.
smile

I can't wait for the story! Congratulations TV - it has to be awesome to be picked, judging by the company you keep.

Thank you everybody! I am so thrilled. I really can't believe I won.
You will have to wait until Dotsie posts it to read my story, but I'd like to tell you another tale about a true friend healing a friend.
The title would have to be,
Dotsie!
This is actually the second time that this wonderful woman has given me encouragement in my writing. She doesn't know it but she had the honor of reading my very first published piece. It was an essay in the NAWW newsletter. She emailed me to tell me she enjoyed reading it and then invited me to send her a story for, Boomer Women. You can imagine how important I felt at that moment. I was floating on cloud 9! And now this! I was seriously starting to think that I have been kidding myself about ever being a successful writer and here comes Dotsie with the shot in the arm that I needed, right when I needed it!
Also, her invitation to check out the forums came at a time when I was feeling very lonely. I've recently moved 600 miles away from all friends and family. I haven't taken a job here yet as I wanted to give myself some time to work on my writing. Dotsie's, Boomer Women Speak, has given me the opportunity to meet all of you wonderful people. With so many new friends, I'll never be lonely again!
Dotsie, I can never thank you enough!
Sincerely,
Robin

Congratulations TVC! Floating on Cloud 9 is a nice place to be....enjoy it!

TVC- congratulations! I look forward to reading your contribution and winning story too!
Well done!

TVC, what a wonderful reflection on your work. Congrats.

Congratulations, Robin! And you're right. Dotsie is quite the encourager.

Can't wait to read it!

Donna

Yahooey for youie!!!
How exciting that you have won! I am so happy for you!
Lala

I am so happy to have one of the newest of our gang win Dotsies contest. Winning can be such a thrill, and winning from among our peers is really exciting. Looking forward to reading your entry....and keep up the good work.

Thank you again for all of the congrats!

One more congrat from me! Dotsie, please let us know when and where the story is posted....
hugs,
Lil

Congrats TVC15, can't wait to read your story.
Maggie

TVC, you mentioned never being lonely again in your post. That's one of the feelings I'm trying to stamp out in boomer women. Sharing stories offers connections to other people. We all need to feel connected, encouraged, and supported in life...expecially at midlife. Thanks for mentioning that.

Dotsie,
What I learned after the move is that there are a lot of people that we really take for granted. People that we only have a small connection to that play a big part in our lives. My close friends and family I can call whenever I miss them and want to talk but there are a lot of other people that I used to talk to, some I didn't even know their names, like cashiers at stores that I used to frequent and bank tellers etc. Then there are those people you run into while out and about that you wouldn't neccessarily consider unless you happened to see them. People from your past, like aquaintances from the children's schools. All of those people are gone from my life now. I love my new home and community and I know I will meet new people here but in the beginning it is quite a shock to the system.
Robin

TVC, you should write about it and submit it to magazines. So many people move today. I think lots of people could relate to that.

Your story has been edited and forwarded to my web queen. She will put it on the site as soon as she has time. She's a busy woman and very good at what she does.

Thanks for the advice Dotsie. It never even crossed my mind to do that.
It's true about everyone moving. Since we moved from Long Island, 5 of my son's friends from back home have also moved out of state. It's like a mad dash to get out of New York...LOL
Take your time with the story.

Congratulations Robin! I'm impatiently waiting to read your story <g>.

Thanks Thistle!