She texted, “Can you chat?” and I answered back, “yes. Call whenever.”
And we talked. We giggled. We related. About cancer. About kids. About life. About our current lives post-cancer. And about how we love that we get to live.
And then. Another caller came up on my phone. I picked up. And we talked. For an hour. Maybe more. About high school. About life. About kids. About husbands. About cancer. About parents. About cows. We talked about it all. And I was at ease. Two girl talks. One evening. One who’s known me through cancer. One who’s known me through life… like at least 30 years of it.
And then. A beep through. And it was one of my peeps. A girl who knows me as well as I know myself. Maybe better. She was outside my house. Dropping off a “cast cooler” for my most recent broken-winged boy. And I met her outside and we chatted. I could have talked to her all night.
They are each part of my tribe. This group of people who, in different ways, has supported me. Through work, life, cancer, kids, marriage, existence. They are the people who call. Text. Know I am terrible at both. And still stick with me. They are the people who would know that I would never want to be buried in a suit… even though they each know me in different ways. They saw me through chemo. Through baldness and hairyness. They saw me when I was living, surviving, and thriving.
And there are a multitude of them. MY TRIBE. My people. My crew.
Tribe is a big thing right now. But how many people have them? I don’t know. What defines one? I think… a group of people who freaking rally around you like nobody’s business even when it’s not a glamorous situation. The people who pray for you. The people who take time out to drop a note or a text or a carrier pigeon. The people who are good.
And I. Love. Goodness. Which is why I also love #bethegoodclothingshop.
When I started following Be the Good Clothing on IG, it was because of their message, “BE THE GOOD.” YES. I can totally get behind that. Why? Because I’ve received the good. Beyond the good, in fact. I received the exceptional love, friendship, and support throughout the last year. Throughout life, really.
I’ve been blessed. And so I love love love Wendy and her mission.
I’m not gonna lie… I love that she’s a #boymama. And she’s just trying to raise them with a belief in goodness. Because I think we can all agree, GOODNESS IS NOT JUST GOOD. IT’S ESSENTIAL.
And I love this so much, I pulled it right off their website:
One of the most exciting things about Be The Good is what we DO with the profits from the shirts. Ever since we launched we have been giving back in different ways. We have donated to orphan care in Ecuador and have given 100 backpacks (with uplifting messages printed on them, of course!) to foster children in Tennessee. And now….we are donating $3 from the sale of every shirt or bodysuit to care for orphans and victims of human trafficking. In short, $3 from the sale of every shirt supports our human tribe.
I meeeeeeeaaaaaan. Love.
So today, I’m partnering with #BETHEGOOD clothing. Find them on Instagram. Find them on Facebook. Find their website here. I will be doing a giveaway over on Facebook from today-Sunday with their “I love my tribe” raglan tee… because… TRIBE. And I will be sporting a “Be The Good” tee in a Live Chat tomorrow {saturday, september 10}.
Be. The. Good.
What a perfect message. What a lovely company. And right now, they are having sales that you should check out. Because, goodness.
I was the one that reached out to Wendy… because GOODNESS. You know I love it. And tribes. You know I believe in them. So for me, this brand is all that and a bag of all doubled-over salt and vinegar chips {which, of course, are mi favorito!}.
Thank you, Wendy, for teaming up with me. You, girlfriend, ARE the good.
I hope you will all check out their awesome selection of kids and adulty tees and such. And hop on the bandwagon of letting your clothing speak for you.
Be the good, friends. If we all did a little more of that, I think the world could potentially be ridiculously awesome. Just a thought, of course.
I got to be with bits and pieces of my tribe last night, and it was lovely. And everyone deserves that loveliness. A tribe. A team. A friend. Who is there. Who is there’s. Come what may.
xoxo- Ashli
