When I started Wee Welcome seven years ago I thought I would help Toronto moms have more fun on maternity leave and maybe make a little extra money for that hot tub I had always wanted.  NEVER, did I think seven years later my free diaper-sized guide would go national in the first year, give me opportunities to meet thousands of moms and moms-to-be across Canada and I would become a parenting expert for a national TV show!

I started out as a new mom without a single "mom friend", so the thing that has made the journey so unbelievable are the women I have met, that have touched my life and that I now call some of my best friends, they are both professionally and personally my Pink Network. My Pink Network are "my people", they get me, they accept me, they celebrate me, they carry me, they support me, they feed me, they make sure I have a full glass of wine, they laugh with and at me, they cry with me, they shop with me, they are my lifeline to sanity and celebration.

You may know many of them as a lot are regularly featured here on WeeWelcome.ca because they are just that awesome I want them to be able to share them with you too!

This summer I was speaking at a conference in New York City along with one of my fabulous friends Theresa Albert and it would have been a great trip even if it had been just the two of us, but we were lucky enough to also be joined by others from our Pink Network, a mixed group of women that in the last 2 years (mostly due to Twitter I have to say) have become this tight group of supportive women.  Jo-Anne Wallace, Erica Ehm, Heather Greenwood Davis, Jen Reynolds, Theresa Albert and I took off together to New York City for a conference and found ourselves making memories together that we honestly will treasure forever.  From taking Jo-Anne on the NYC subway and a bus for the first time, to being in the Regis & Kelly audience together to shopping 'til we dropped, to chasing cabs in the rain, playing hide and go seek in Park Plaza hotel and most importantly for me the memory of looking out at the audience at the stage speaking at #140ConfNY and seeing everyone one of those faces looking back at me, smiling, supporting and knowing no matter what they have my back. Here's a link to my Facebook pictures
from the trip, http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150662770360133.693790.713410...

Those 3 days together on a total whim are 3 days none of us will ever forget. So make the time to build, nurture and celebrate your Pink Network.  If you haven't found your Pink Network yet, do it.  Connect with new people in real life, online and make time to get to know them, have a few laughs with them, listen to them, buy them a glass of wine...or better yet a bottle and figure out how you can help them. Nothing is more rewarding.

I have been so fortunate that I haven't lost any of these fabulous womento Breast Cancer, but I know many that have lost their best friends to this horrible disease.  This post is to recognize the need for everyone to have their own Pink Network for the good times and the bad. In support of Breast Cancer Awareness month, TELUS has launched a campaign to raise money and awareness, visit GoPINK,watch the Pink Network video below and visit their Facebook Page to try out their application which they will donate $1 for anyone that tries it out. 
TELUS will also donate $25 to The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation for every pink BlackBerry Curve 9360 sold during the month of October.

I know this group of women that make up my Pink Network have my back andif you are looking to start to building your own Pink Network the firststep is reaching out to one friend and then two and soon you will have a group you know have your back to because they are "your people".

Share your story about your Pink Network with us in the comments here.

Disclaimer: A $400 dollar donation will be made by TELUS in Wee Welcome's name to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation for posting this blog, there is also a contest element but the donation and helping to create awareness is enough for me to take the time to write this post.