The WONDERFUL WWW

I have realized lately, more than ever, how incredibly lucky I am. Before Tony left, he and I were not internet or computer people. We had a computer, but we almost never used it. It just sat there collecting dust in the corner. I used it to make worksheets for my class when I was teaching school, then after Emma was born, it became my chart making machine.. you know, for tracking my treadmill times on my mission to lose the dreadful baby weight.



But never had I used it to stay in touch, blog, or meet new friends.


And of course, once Tony left to go work overseas, we each got laptops so we could communicate that way. That's when it began for me. That's when I joined my first online social site... myspace. I loved it right away, I couldn't believe it could really be this easy to find old friends and even make new ones!


I'm no longer a myspacer, it just became something that I wasn't.


However, this blog and the others that I contibute to and read are such a vital part of my life now. Maybe it's being the only adult in the house. This is my connection to my peers and because the world is at my fingertips here, I have found that most of the friends that mean so much to me, that pull at my heartstrings and truly make friendship meaningful to me, don't even live near me. It makes me sad sometimes that I really only have one true friend here where I live. I have familiy that I love and a cousin who is a great friend, but as for someone who is just in my life because we chose to be friends... one. I do have a few friends that I talk to sporadically, but as far as consistency goes, there's really only one.


I think the reason this bothers me a lot is because before Tony left, I thought I had a lot of friends here. I really did. And I thought they were real, true friends, but it's amazing how people show their true colors when your life goes in a different direction than theirs. I think all the time about how if I had a friend who was in my situation, I would be sure to at least call her every few days, to see if she may need a hand with anything, to offer moral support, to be a voice and an ear for her. But no one who was a friend then, before he left, has been that way. My family has... for the most part, of course, but not one person who I thought was a friend before Tony left has been that.


However, Alison, my newest friend here, really is a true friend. I can tell it. She came over with her boys today and just sat with me and talked and watched tv while our kids played and had a good time. That's a friend. Someone who's just there. She's wonderful and I hope our kids are always great friends as they are now. I'm so thankful Emma and Garrett were in class together this year, otherwise we may never have met.



So, through all this babbling, my point is that without this connection to all of you, my life would be only a shell of what it is. I love you girls and I just want you to know it. :) I appreciate that you respond to my random musings and provide girl support like only true friends can do. It really means so very much.



And I thank Al Gore, since he seems to believe that he was the original creator of the internet. :)