Web sisters

I have found myself a group of "sisters" and I couldn't be happier.

I realize that it is 2010 and online forums have been around for quite some time, but I am a relative newcomer to anything more complex than e-mail when it comes to my online presence. I was always hesitant to join a group of people I couldn't see or hear. Call me old fashioned I guess, but it made me nervous.

I took the baby step a few years back and joined MySpace. I can honestly claim in was for the music. My favorite band in the world -- at that particular time in my life -- had a show coming up that I couldn't find information about anywhere else but MySpace. So I signed up. It was ok. I found old friends. Saw what folks had been up to since high school... It was good, but not life-changing.

Then came the next step. Facebook. Yep, there I was. Posting photos and following updates of people I hadn't actually talked to in years. But I was having fun.

Then I joined an online forum. I was nervous. I was scared. I didn't want to share too much, but I was sooo interested in what was being said by others. I was cautious.

Imagine my amazement and happiness when the forum turned out to be full of some of the most amazing women I have ever had the privilege to "meet." (ok, I have met two IRL :))

These women come from all over the world, range in ages, ethnicities, political and religious beliefs and interests... Yet, the common tie that brought us all together seems stronger than that.

There are disagreements occasionally sure. There are some harsh truths written about. There are raw feelings and emotions shared. But in the end, there is support. The type of support that is often hard to find -- the support that is there even when you screw up, the support that is there even when folks disagree with you, the support that is there even when you have a hard time supporting yourself.

As I have learned more about these women, my friendships with them are moving into my "real" world. I wonder about these women. I think of them when something reminds me of them. I worry about them when I know things are hard in their life.

What is my reason for posting this? In the end, it was just to ruminate about this group and my luck at finding it. And also to say thank you.

So to my "sisters," thank you.

"Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, 'What! You too? I thought I was the only one." - C.S. Lewis