Fabulous Friends

As some of you know, 2010 wasn't a great year at our house. Our humans were dealing with a lot of hard things, and I didn't get to spend as much time online as I like to. This year has been much better, and I've been back on Facebook more, but only in the past few days have I spent much time on Twitter again.

Some of my Twitter friends are also Facebook friends, so I almost forgot how many aren't. Then, last night, a bunch of my friends that I haven't seen in forever were on Twitter all at the same time, and it was SOOOOO awesome! I could hardly keep up with all the great conversations. There were pictures and videos to look at, and friends had been on trips and done all sorts of cool things since the last time I talked to them! Of course, there was some hard stuff, too. I learned about friends who are struggling or who have passed over the rainbow bridge in the last year. But even in the hard times--especially in the hard times--what an encouragement to have supportive friends (furry or otherwise).

Friends are SO important. It's sad that sometimes when we need them the very most is when it's hardest to find time to be with them. When I joined Twitter, I never dreamed that I would meet so many wonderful anipals! I counted up one time, and I have Twitter friends in something like a dozen different countries--maybe more. That's AMAZING!!!

A lot of people make fun of social media, and I know it has problems, but it also has incredible benefits, and the best one of all is the friends. Even if you are stuck inside or live in a remote place, you can make friends on Twitter and Facebook and share stuff that is important to you. Sure, it takes time, and you have to be careful about that. Yes, people sometimes do dumb things on these sites, and there are some very real privacy concerns--particularly on Facebook and with Twitpics--that you should pay attention to. But I'm really grateful for Twitter and Facebook and especially for my friends and the chance to spend time with them.

If you have friends you haven't talked to in a while, maybe today would be a good day to reach out to them?

Welcome to My World

I've been wanting my very own blog for ages, but I had to wait until the time was right, so I'm really excited to finally get started and hope you like it! I live in the United States, just outside Atlanta, Georgia, which is in the southeastern part of the country, with my (human) mom and dad and six bear brothers: Hope (pronounced "hoppy"), Pete, Jackson, Snowflake, Chaucer, and little JJ. Being the only girl bear in the family, I get a lot of attention, which is perfect because I LOVE being admired!

I'm also the spokesbear for the family and plan all the important events, like parties and trips. In fact, my mom and I have been doing quite a lot of traveling recently, and we have another fine vacation coming up next week to one of our favorite places in North Carolina, where this picture was taken:

I'm on the far right, next to Jackson. Hope ("hoppy") is in the middle. Pete is the largest bear, and Snowflake--who really looks up to Pete and loves to spend time with him--is out in front.  Chaucer is proudly perched up high. JJ hadn't arrived yet when this picture was taken, but he's too little to be climbing this high anyway. JJ is tiny and almost the same color as Jackson.

My main job is helping my mom, which, frankly, can be a real pain. Humans are very high maintenance. Fortunately, dad has his own bears (Hope and Pete) because I have my paws full with mom. Jackson helps some with her, but he also watches over all the youngest bears, so I'm the one who deals with mom most of the time.

Jackson is the most spiritual bear in the family. He's a very gentle bear who loves to pray and talk to angels and stuff. He also loves the beauty of nature, like flowers and trees, but Jackson Bear does NOT like getting dirty, so the being in nature part can get a little tricky.

Chaucer loves to read. Books are his favorite thing in the world, so he's pretty self-sufficient, even though he's young. Snowflake, on the other hand, is not a reader. In fact, he rarely even forms complete sentences. But Snowflake is very enthusiastic. He loves watching (American) football with daddy and the big boy bears, so he can jump up and yell, "touchdown" when either team scores. In fact, Snowflake has been known to yell touchdown when he especially likes anything--a television show or silly joke or even a bright color that catches his eye.

Our newest addition to the family is JJ, the youngest and smallest bear of all. JJ looks a lot like Jackson Bear, except much smaller. He doesn't talk at all yet but seems quite content to simply stick close to Jackson.

So we all have our work to do, but I'm the first bear in the family with her own blog, and I'm pretty pleased about that. I hope you will follow my blog and also friend me on Facebook or Twitter (@wilsonbear)! My nickname is Wilsie, by the way, so you can call me either Wislie or Wilson.

Now that you know about my family, maybe you'd like to tell me about yours in the comments below?