When I was pregnant with Ethan,
a friend of mine introduced me to
She told me how they had these birth groups
according to when you were due.
Ethan was due in July 2006,
so I joined that board.
For the longest time,
I lurked.
Most of the women here lived in the US
or Canada.
I did not.
But it was great to read
what they had to say.
Many had concerns and questions
like me.
I then noticed a separate tread,
for women due the 1st week of July.
Ethan was due on the 8th.
That counted,
right?
As the months went by,
I grew to really like this group of women.
But were they my friends?
On July 2nd,
my water broke at 9am.
Most women would call
the hospital
or their best friend.
I went online.
Within 5 minutes
I had 10 responses
all telling me to get my behind off the computer
and call the hospital.
Only a friend would be so blunt!
Even after Ethan was born,
I would go to Babycenter
to read every one's birth stories.
We would share baby woes.
Milestones.
Scares.
Achievements.
Then Facebook came along.
And we moved there.
We sent Christmas presents
and birthday gifts.
I use to call them
the girl from Babycenter.
Then they became
a "July mama"
or "Seed mama".
Then they earned a name
with their city behind it
(Sarah from Chicago).
But now..
I just refer to them by their names.
This must mean we're friends
right?
Granted,
I'll probably never meet them
in real life.
But no one can tell me
my internet friends
aren't real friends.
They have been there
for the good,
the bad
and the ugly.
Each time I move
they are still there.
They never promise to keep in touch,
but then we loose touch with each other
(and I'm not knocking those friends
I've lost touch with).
Somewhere along the way,
it was decided by who-knows-who
that online friends aren't real.
But these mamas
disprove this.
Even with my Masters,
I've had great online chats with some cohorts.
I'm giddy with excitement
to be able to meet at least one of them
this summer.
She went from being a cohort
to a friend.
A friendship I'm confident
will continue
even after graduation.
So to the friends I've never met.
Thank you for being such great mates.
I love you all.
MWA
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