Don't you love getting mail? Especially unexpected mail? Especially unexpected mail that comes in a package?!?!
Many of you know that I belong to an online community built around cloth diapering. I just celebrated my three-year anniversary there and have been a moderator for almost a year now. I won't give you my exact post count, but it is above 10,000. I know. Sometimes even I wonder, "I seem so normal, how can this be?"
My friend Lee recently wondered in her blog about in-real-life vs. on-line friendships. (I have the pleasure of knowing Lee IRL, and the joy of reading her adventures online.) How do I feel about IRL vs. OL friendships? Well, let's just say I recently flew to Switzerland to meet one of my OL friends. What can I say? I had a good feeling about her. I've had that good feeling about many of the women I've meet through this online forum. I dont' have a burning desire to meet the majority of them, and there have been some whose posts have made me queasy in the stomach, and it wasn't the content -- it was some sort of vibe I got from them. Well, they've turned out to be not so honest and/or mentally unstable ... so there is something conveyed OL that is similar to that vibe you can have IRL ... another post entirely.
Anyway, I've received three unexpected packages in the last week, all from people I know through this online community. The first was a magnetic wooden game for Wesley. The second was a beautifully illustrated book for our growing family. The third was a package of wool diaper covers, cloth diapers, and an outfit, all handmade by Priscilla at Be-Bops, my favorite diaper cover maker.
All of these gifts reflect that these people (two of the gifts were given by a group of people) know me ... I mean really know me. And I've only met about half of them. They also show that these people care about me and that somehow, through typed word, I have touched their lives and we have built a friendship.
I know enough about them to know that we are different in many ways, especially religion ... I think the group of people who sent me gifts and I represent seven different "faith expressions." And yet, we're a strong group of friends. The larger community (much more diverse in many ways) has come together to help people finance a range of things from food during job transitions to adoption.
I agree with The Progenitor's comment on Brenda's blog enRoute 365 ... that these opportunities to learn about people from around the world through the Internet can be the bridges that help change and unite our world.
Wow, I got off topic again! What is wrong with me? All I really wanted to do was post some pictures of my new cloth diapering accessories and tell you, once again, how excited I am to use cloth in the future.
Enjoy the rest of the pictures:
Wool diaper shorts with top
Wool diaper cover with turtle
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3 comments:
What a strange and wonderful new world I am entering! ("Parenting," that is...)
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I keep going back and forth on Dan/Pepsoid's point. Maybe we should hold an inter-blog forum on "Can blogging unite the world?" Radical, hmm? Still, as you mentioned, I feel I'm beginning to know several of my online friends or at the very least understand their perspectives.
I like the sound of that, Bren! Do you know how that could be done?
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