A tribute to my friends

I met a group of ladies online when we were all pregnant. It has now been over 9 months since we started chatting with each other daily or nearly daily. All our babies are growing like crazy and each and every one is more beautiful every time I see new pictures.

I have never met any of these women in real life. I have communicated with them in an online forum, emailed, texted, called several of them and had conversations in online chats. We are a diverse group of women ranging in everything you could imagine except that we are all women and we all have young babies. We also all live in the US albeit all across the country.

I never imagined I would find such a close relationship with anyone online, let alone a group of women I would call friends.

We have only known each other for a little over nine months, yet we have already been through so much together.
One of us recently bought a new house.
One of us had a husband lose a job and then find a new one a week later.
One of us is struggling with an ex who won't allow visitation with her older children.
One of us is newly pregnant again.
One of us just lost a deal on a new house.
One of us chose to move half way across the country to be with her baby's dad.
One of us had to have gallbladder surgery just weeks after giving birth.
One of us is stuck in a marriage that has fallen apart.
One of us is a single mom with twins.
One of us is trying to figure out how to be a good wife and mother and still have herself.
One of us just got married.
One of us is planning a wedding next year.
Two of us actually met each other in real life about a month ago.

We regularly share pictures with each other so we know what all our families look like. We have shared intimate details of our lives with each other and we have sent gifts to each other. We have shared elation, grief and uncertainty with each other.

We have inside jokes and we even tell each other when we are getting out of line. We are all strong in our own ways. We have all provided a shoulder to lean on when needed or leaned on a shoulder in a time of need.

All put together, we have 31 children. When we finally meet up, it promises to be wild and crazy even before we all start mixing drinks!

I can't wait to finally meet my girlfriends in person.