Sixteen women who met via the Internet converged on St. Louis June 8-11, 2006, to meet each other in person. They are part of a 375 member online community of mostly truckers' wives who support each other with friendship and advice while their husbands are on the road.
The online group, dubbed the Family Center E-List, is part of the trucking website www.layover.com. The email community connects women managing the home front who face unique challenges due to the trucking lifestyle. Truck drivers' spouses and significant others find a listening ear and pass along their own experiences. For them, sitting down at the computer is like having morning coffee at the kitchen table with their best friends, sharing the joys and frustrations of life.
Sixteen women representing nine different states made the trek to put a face to their friendship. "For one weekend each year it's about who we are as women," said Kiley. "It is an empowering experience that is impossible to describe".
Some members of the group visited St Louis area attractions while others stayed in the hotel relaxing. A large portion of the weekend was spent at the hotel talking and laughing, which the group is known best for. When members are asked what stands out the most about being at a reunion, the comments are always, "Love, laughter, tears and incredible bonding."
The annual pizza-and-pajama party brought lots of laughter and sharing. Here the women shared special gifts they had brought for each other. Stories of what the group means to them and how it has helped them are also shared. Tears and laughter abound during the evening.
On the last evening, everyone gathered in the hotel lobby for group photos. They had dinner together, went swimming and piled back into the suite for one last chance to visit. Some stayed up till dawn to make the most of the time.
E-List member Dianne Long said, "My first reunion (2005) brought the realization we really are a family. This reunion taught me that leaving these dearest friends at the airport was painful. The tears didn't quit till I was halfway back to Phoenix."
Member Stacey Smith shared a similar departure experience by being comforted by a fellow airline passenger in the security line. When seeing her tears he tried to comfort her, thinking she had just been to a funeral. She told him there was no funeral; she was just going home and leaving her best friends. Smith summarized the weekend by saying, "Incredible bonding with phenomenal friends."
The group was formed in 1999 and this was the group's fourth annual reunion. Carol Kiley, the E-List moderator begins planning the reunions more than a year in advance with a great amount of input from the list members. The reunion committee meets in the fall to finalize budgets and details. In 2007, the Layover Family reunion will be held in Atlanta, Georgia, and it is expected to draw even more participants.
The Layover Family Center E-List is open to anyone with a relationship to the trucking industry. The majority of the members are truckers' wives and significant others, along with a few drivers. The women share the daily happenings of this unique lifestyle via email. To join the E-List you simply need to access Layover's Family Center and click on the appropriate links.
CONTACT:
Carol Kiley
pk@layover.com
