Cheeky Sweetie

I don’t really know what I expected when I started blogging.  I didn’t know about Dooce.  I had never even heard the term “mommyblogger.”  I was in a diametrically opposite field that was all abuzz with this new-ish thing called blogs and the marketing potential they offered.  But when I started checking blogs out, I didn’t look twice at most of the topical blogs.  It was the people behind the personal blogs that got my interest.  I read a few here and there, but I was busy with life and it slipped into that vat of almost ideas I have stewing around in my head.

Then I totally quit that field, and I started to miss the online relationships I had built while I was in it.  A few clients, for lack of a better word, stood out from the pack but I truly missed my colleagues.  Almost exclusively women, we had built up a camaraderie as we faced common annoyances and occasional catastrophes.  The drama that sometimes sprung up was often absolutely ridiculous and had me rolling my eyes, but I suppose when you get that many women together, particularly when they feel they are competing for the same customers, that often happens.  I still see it here in this sphere, in fact.

I decided to venture into that blogging thing I remembered.  It was more about an outlet for the jumble in my head, but I couldn’t help but hope that I would build some new relationships to fill the void left by my former colleagues.  Today, its been two years since I started blogging, and I seriously can not imagine living the rest of my life without the friends I’ve made.

This year I’ve ventured out from behind my keyboard and started growing my online relationships offline, as well.  It was a really scary step, and one that I can still get really anxious about.  But with every gathering and every conference, I feel my footprint in the community growing more solid and more recognizable.  Most importantly, the friendships I have already established are becoming vital parts of my life, the online to offline friendships are blossoming, and the brand spanking new ones are adding richness, as well.

There are a lot of bloggers I adore, but last weekend I had the bonding experience of a lifetime when I spent several days with Wendy, Sassy, Shannon, Karl, Mindy, and Sarah, punctuated with a visit from Marty and his wife, Reba before attending Avitaween, the Halloween party of the planet.  I simply am not eloquent enough to tell you the fun we had, but I can say that it was…….laughter.  The chemistry between us all was amazing, and I now have a sisterhood again.  <3