'Real' Friends

The Boy Having A Snack

Back when I first discovered message boards I remember wondering how the people posting on them could be so open with each other or talk to each other like 'real' friends.  Then I got pregnant with The Girl.  While stumbling around the Internet I came across babycenter.com.  They have message boards for pregnant women based on the month their child is due.  I signed on to the May 2007 board and started to get acquainted.  I was a bit put off by the sheer number of members, but I stuck around. 

Those of you familiar with message boards can attest to the drama that plagues those boards.  After a while, about 30 of us started our own private board, password protected of course.  Here we felt free to be open with photos, stories, and the goings on in our lives since the group was so much more tight knit.  While we've had our ups and downs since then I can honestly say that I do not know what I would do without those ladies.  Most days I don't get to talk to many adults.  I can vent about the kids, The Chef or myself.  I can share triumphs and those not so triumphant moments.  We are truly a family now.

I think a fair number of my board friends are checking out the blog, and I hope they will see this entry and think, even for just a moment, that each of them makes me smile.  I am grateful for their friendship and the very real sense of community we've found there.

Are you a message board person?