Pretend Friends

Waaaaay, waaaaay back before I had internet on my phone (or in my home for that matter), I was pregnant with our first little ginger.  Three of my co-workers and I were all expecting around the same time.  We happened to find this website called Babycenter.  They had these things called "boards" in which other folks with your specific interests etc. could converse. Wait, what?

I spent some time on bed rest (can NOT believe I complained about getting to lounge around all day!).  While on said bed rest, I spent way more time than you can imagine posting on, and reading a board labeled April '99 babies.  At the time, I was extremely new to the internet so at first I was mostly a "lurker".  Although I didn't know there was a name for reading/not posting on a board.  It was exciting to share some camaraderie with other women due around the same time as me.  After all, misery loves company! 

What I didn't know, or couldn't fathom, was that some of those ladies would become some of my best friends...even the ones I've never met.  When we all first stated posting, we had screen-names.  No one "knew" anyone else in real life, nor did we know anyone's actual name. Boy have times changed for my little group!  

We have moved our board to a couple different venues over the last 16+ years.  Yep, 16 years of friendship with women I've never met.  Cray - Z.  There are about 11-12 of us that still visit our "newest home" at least weekly. We have shared so much about our lives over the years.  Good, and bad.  It's a great place to vent about things in your everyday life, get it off your chest, and get back to reality.

Many of us have gone on to have subsequent children.  We've been through divorces, illnesses, deaths, and even a few group spats. There have been many meet-ups, which is amazing as we live all over the country...and even in Canada. Honestly, I've gotten some of my best parenting advice from these ladies.  And it still continues.  One of our more recent conversations was the tipping point for me starting this blog.  Another gave me the idea for the name. 

For a long time, the board was my secret.  Not from Mark, but from the outside world.  I would say "Oh, my friend said blank" to which Mark would ask if one of my "pretend friends" said it. And if there were others around, I was almost embarrassed to tell them what he meant.  Guess if you didn't know about my pretend friends before, you sure do now...

The biggest take-away from my group was that we need others who are in similar situations.  We need someone to talk to who has "been there, done that".  When I was home with the girls full-time, I didn't always have a "person" who was in my same boat.  More than anything, these awesome chicks have been that... my life raft.  I'm so thankful for them, every single day!