You're on Mute and Other Virtual Musings

Meet the awesome ladies of my Book Club. They are the best!

We began our neighborhood Book Club last Fall...

• partly from my decades-long desire to be in a Book Club,
• partly from a shared desire to enjoy a sense of community during restricted living (a positive that came out of 2020!).

Since we live in the South, getting together outside around my fire pit (even in December) remained feasible...until January. January's freezing temps meant that we had to come up with a different venue and since each of us has a different threshold of comfort when it comes to contagious disease, we met via ZOOM.

Who knew a year ago that virtual meetings would be a commonplace thing? Because it has become so commonplace, people tend to either love it, or hate it. 

I fall into the former category.

Don't get me wrong...I do not think virtual meetings can replace face-to-face interaction. Nothing can replace in-person community. But you know what? Virtual get-togethers are a stellar second, in my opinion. And here's why...

We can still get together. Like my January Book Club, life doesn't have to be cancelled due to circumstances outside our control (like weather, or a pandemic). We can still share ideas, opinions, laughs, and a great time with one another even though we aren't physically in the same place. I bet our forebears would have given a LOT to have this luxury.

We can expand our circles. Technology grants us access to a global pool of people with whom we can form relationships, much larger than at any other time in history. I want to jump on that opportunity. Don't you?

We can learn and grow. We are no longer tethered to a specific location in order to expand our horizons via classes, seminars, workshops, clubs, etc. 

We can share life. People used to have to write letters and wait for months for replies in order to share life. The invention of the telephone changed that. Then we added email and text. Now we have the opportunity to share life virtually, arguably a step up from electronic letters and (I think.) a great way to stay current and share life when in-person living hits the pause button.

Here is what I propose:

Let's get together.

You and me.

And let's do it virtually.

Let's test the waters and see if we can't grow an online community of friends.

Weekly

Wednesdays at 1pm (Central Standard) - Let's get together weekly as a community. Let's do it informally, as if we were enjoying lunch with a few friends. Come to talk. Come to listen. Come to meet new people from all walks of life. Come for all of it. Come for part of it. Come as you are - and that means with a baby on your hip, or in your car during your lunch break from work. You are welcome here. Join me.

• Wednesdays at 1pm (Central Standard) - I will pin an invite to the top of the Facebook Page every Wednesday morning as both a reminder, and to give you the link to join me virtually.
• Use the link to connect. 
• Enjoy yourself. 

Monthly

Third Thursdays at 7pm (Central Standard) - Let's get together monthly to talk about books. You love them. I love them. Let's dwell on our mutual admiration of the written word - together! We will start with an icebreaker, enjoy playing some games designed to help us get to know one another, and talk about BOOKS! You'll leave with some good titles and {hopefully} some great new friends.

• Third Thursdays at 7pm (Central Standard)
• I will pin the a reminder to the top of the Facebook Page in the morning on the Third Thursday as both a reminder, and to give you the link to join me virtually.