Danielle Christopher

Rocking my cranky two-year-old in our rocking chair in our dark living room, a glance at my iPhone states the lonely hour of 3 am. I have been up for over an hour and it feels likable that I will not be sleeping anytime soon. The rest of the family is sleeping above my head so turning on the TV is not an option.

Out of the corner of my eye I see my white rectangular friend now sitting on the table next to me.

With an adrenaline jolt I grab my phone and tap on the Twitter app to check updates.

Because of the beauty of the world-wide network I begin conversing with another mom who is having had a bad night. We connect over our love of coffee.

It has been a year since I joined Twitter and it has been a lifeline. The kindness and support I have received alongside the stay at home mom life has been amazing.

I tweet with many kind, all famous and reality superstars. What got me solidly hooked was sitting in the hospital room with my oldest daughter when she was battling pneumonia. Out of bare necessities I played on my phone while she slept. My heart swelled with the virtual friends who checked up on us. People I never met were sending us love through cyberspace.

Since, I have been able to realize a dream to write because of Twitter. I now freelance write from home due to the connections of Twitter. I have even been sent gifts for my girls via @Clippo, @Huggies, @ScholasticCanada.

There have also been the negative nellies who attempt to rain on my parade. Once they realized I did not follow their views, they un-followed me. I couldn’t be happier for it.

Recently, when my sister found out that her cancer was back, the tweets of support helped me vent and enabled to be there for her and my household.

When I read about people raising money to help children (@HeelingHunger @Huggies Diaper drives), it inspired me to pay it forward. Be it a kind word to a tweep, or just saying ‘Hello. How are you?” We routinely purge our house looking for toys, clothes and books to donate. I have offered my time to encourage anyone who needs a pick-me-up, as I have been fortunate enough to receive.

When I hear my non-Twitter friends ask me why I ‘waste time’ on Twitter, I smile. Twitter is like the friend waiting in the wings. It’s there for those who treasure friendships as a two-way street.

Before I know it, the other half of the family is awake ready to start the day. My once foggy brain has cleared.

Thank you Twitter for being you.

#bekind to Twitter and it will be kind to you.