What Erma Bombeck brought to me...

I just returned from a four day adventure in Dayton, Ohio. Home of the Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop and the University of Dayton. This was my third trip to the humor workshop and each time, I came back with something special...this time I "adopted" three big sisters. 

My first big sister greeted me at the first dinner and with a kind heart, she offered an empty chair at her table. Her inviting smile and cheeriness set the mood for the evening. She told me about her healthy spirituality blog, writing for her town's paper in Ohio and her pervious jobs in the medical field. She was a third time Erma attendee and we soon learned that we had gone to the same three workshops in '06, '08 and now '12. Funny that we never met before then.  She said she was there to infuse more humor into her writing. I knew better. Erma put her there, like a gift waiting to be unwrapped for me. This sister oozed joy, and her positive outlook filled the dining room.  Her smile was a ray of sunshine.  She was full of infectious optimism. She was sent from Heaven.

My second sister, showed up the next morning at the breakfast hall. Not only did we learn to write better humor, we ate continually! Being jet lagged, I was a little slow to start the morning, but this sister woke me right up. Telling her personal story of two tragedies in her life- the passing of one of her children... then her husband. A story that makes you appreciate the dirty, wet towels on the bathroom floor and those precious family members that threw them there. Yes, Erma did it again...she put another person in my path to reflect on the precious gift of life.  This sister has plans to start a blog,  and write her story. Oh, I forgot to mention, she found new love and was recently remarried. She is full of desire to tell her story and I cannot wait to read it! Note to self- remember the Kleenex.

My third sister is a quiet, tall beautiful woman. She is a blogger and in the re-invention of herself. A mother of four, who also lost a son too soon. She spoke of her family, and offered her pearls of wisdom...because Erma placed her there.  She unknowingly taught me patience. She spent time with me and listened to me. Sharing her analogy of the "low, drifting balloon" that needs us to run under and blow on it to keep it from touching the floor- I am forever grateful. She is full of insight and I am thankful to have met her.

Usually, I come back from the Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop with writing tips...this time I came home with three adopted sisters. I wish them all the luck and power to write their stories, to make time to write and to share their gift with others. But, most of all...I thank Erma who keeps coming back to the workshop (in her "own" way) offering gifts of her writing, her beautiful family (who read their favorite pieces) and providing the "sisters" when we need them the most.