I have made an interesting set of friends on the internet, most of whom I've never spoken with and probably never will. Yet I know them.
When I first quit my job to be a full-time mommy, I couldn't wait to get away from the rat race. In fact, whenever I had interviewed potential employees for positions, it used to irk me to no end when they would grin and say in a sappy voice, "I just love to work with people." Oh sure! If you didn't, you'd be a marine biologist, right? Come on! John Q. Public has never been a contender for Most Popular in my book. (Twelve years in hotel management can make a person feel this way.)
Well, three years have come and gone since I left the rat race, and in that time, I've started a small business here in my home. I've also learned how lonely that can be. My morning coffee buddy is my computer. My colleagues are the three little girls crawling around my feet under my desk, leaving Barbie dolls on my keyboard, shoving pop-tarts into my CD-ROM, and making sure my lap is never at a loss for discarded stuffed animals.
As much as I used to complain about "people" that I worked with, I miss them! I miss going to lunch with them, and I miss hearing their goofy weekend stories and tales of their children. But, I have made an interesting set of friends on the internet, most of whom I've never spoken with and probably never will. Yet I know them. I know the tone of their emails, and I can "hear" things in their messages, such as joy, anger, frustration, and victory. We've offered support, we've shared our successes with each other, and we've helped each other get helpful information. I've never seen their faces, but I care about them, and I sense they care about me.
Can you imagine living 100 years ago, and hearing that this will be the case one day? I would have said (while madly churning the butter), "Not in my lifetime!" And that would have been accurate. My mother always said that when God closes a door, He opens a window. And I believe that to be the case here. I've left my other friends behind, but my "net" friends are people, too. If you have them, enjoy them, and be as good a friend to them as you would if they were in front of your face.
Mia Cronan is a happily married at-home mother of four children, ages 8, 6, 4, 2 (and one more expected in November, 2004!), living in Ohio. She owns and edits http://MainStreetMom.com, the magazine for modern mothers with traditional values. Ask Mia how to make money at home while raising a family in a toxin-free environment! Visit http://mainstreetmom.com/mw
if you have any questions or comments!