So I Have This Friend*...

I don't really talk about stuff like this. It's not that I'm fully embarrassed--I just think it's not something I particularly advertise. But I wanted to let others know about my friend.

Back when I was newly engaged, I became a member of an online site that connected brides-to-be with each other. You could post with other girls who were getting married on your same wedding date or you could locate brides by region. I didn't really post much on that site; I was still new to the whole online forum thing.

Shortly after my wedding, they offered a spin-off site on babies. So I joined. But I didn't post for awhile. I "lurked" around, seeing what other newly married women were going through. After I became pregnant, I ended up finding a group of women due within a two-month span together. We shared stories of weight gain, feeling our babies kick for the first time and then birth stories. It was a great group of women. Then, during my maternity leave, the site shut down completely.

Two spin-off sites formed from there. I didn't really look at the larger community; I was drawn to the smaller one. Since then, we've become a very close-knit group of women (along with a few token males). We've seen each other go through some rough stuff and some pretty fabulous life experiences. We're all over the country with a few across the seas.

I remember my first few posts on the site and a woman named Lynn wrote a little note in my journal. We became "journal buddies," sharing our life's thoughts and pictures of our kids. She has a beautiful little boy whose smile lights up the room and is just a few months older than Riley. I oftentimes refer to her as "my friend in Grand Rapids," because, really, how do you explain to your friends that you have online friends? I mean, without garnering some nasty looks? How do you explain that this woman has become one of your best friends? Oh, and you've never met.

When she told me there was a possibility of her hitching a ride to Chicago last weekend, I immediately became giddy. How fabulous would it be for us to finally meet? For her to meet the wacky family that I call my own? I received the excellent news just a few days later that she would indeed head my way! Luckily Phil didn't have any reservations, as he knows how close she and I have become. And the kids were ecstatic for the arrival of "Mommy's friend," which sounded a little too that-time-of-the-month for me!

She arrived late due to wonderful downtown Chicago traffic. But we enjoyed a delicious dinner of Giordanos and spent the entire evening chatting, watching Grey's and chatting some more. The time together was perfect, until it was ruined by a nasty creature that fell in our window well! Yeah, I shrieked like a little girl and decided it was time for bed.

Gross, disgusting creature. Nothing like seeing paws
against your window to know there's a creature there.

Riley gave up her room for Lynn, and the morning began with chocolate chip waffles and pancakes with hash browns and cinnamon rolls. Both kids enjoyed giving Lynn haircuts at the beauty shop and checking out said nasty possum. Gross. (FYI: The possum did make it out of the window well thanks to a plank Phil placed down there. Thank goodness--dead possum is never a good thing. But how would we know he's dead and not playing, well, possum?) Anyway, I was so sad to say good-bye to Lynn as she had to return to her little man, but it was a wonderful visit.

It goes to show that you can have friends all over the world. And yes, I have a very dear friend of mine I met online. She no longer is the best friend of mine that I've never met.

Oh, and she's good for taking a family picture for us. I didn't post a picture of Lynn, though. You'll just have to believe me in that she does exist. :)

Jeremy's forming the word "cheese".
So which kid resembles which parent?

*Disclaimer: Lynn wrote about her visit on her blog first. But I was planning this post as soon as she left. Work/life just got in the way.