Together We Stand

Fellow blogathoner Jackie Dishner has a great post today, Partner with Others. "If you're having a difficult time moving forward," she writes, "sometimes it's helpful to partner with others."

Her words are as true for us as parents of boys as they are for her as a writer with a book to promote. Part of the reason I write this blog is so that we, as parents of boys, can share our insights and ideas, frustrations and fears with each other. Because if there's one thing I've learned about raising boys, it's this: No matter how much we love them, there will be days when we have absolutely no idea what to do next.

That's when we need to reach out. A network of friends and family is great; nothing can replace an actual shoulder to cry on or a grandparent who can swoop in and take the kids off your hands for a few hours.

But I see a lot of value in our virtual communities also. Many of us are trying to raise our kids according to slightly different parenting philosophies than those with which we were raised, and it can be hard to find support at home when no one else seems to understand what we're doing. Sites such as Joyce Fetteroll's Joyfully Rejoicing and Sandra Dodd's posts about Parenting Peacefully can help us find encouragement and link us to other, real-life people who are more than willing to share their real-life experiences.

Parenting and homeschooling blogs are another great source of support. Some of my current favorites are Pack of Hungry Snails, Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers, Horrible Sanity, Parenting by Trial and Error, Digital Mom and Blog Salad. I don't know about you, but I get a lot of support from simply knowing that other people are going through the exact same things I am.

How about you? Where do you find support on- or off-line?