Some good moral support from a distance

I am so blessed.  I really am.  I am blessed to have some amazing friends who let me vent my frustrations about my lack of friends TO THEM, MY FRIENDS.  It's not as strange as it seems, I promise.  I do have some wonderful friends.  My kindred-spirits and sisters-in-arms are in Mississippi,  Louisiana, New York, Massachusetts, Arizona, Washington and Oregon.  There are several in Ireland as well. They are wonderful, soulful, beautiful, intelligent, huge-hearted, kind-spirited, brazen, battle-waging, award-winning, genuine, fabulous friends. And they are all more than 300 miles away.

I don't get out much.
Not even to church.

You see, here's what we don't talk about much, if ever.  The fact is, as much as I LOVE what we're doing, it doesn't really pay the bills.  I do as much as I can to make money (again, here's my website so you can do some shopping and help us out. I am not into hand-outs, but I really do some great work! Lots of it with Orthodox families in mind!)  There are about seven Orthodox churches that are local to us.  ALL OF THEM are almost exactly and hour's drive!  So, that's at least a quarter of a tank of gas every time we go to church, and I don't usually HAVE a quarter of a tank of gas.

Don't misunderstand.
I am not complaining.

I am just explaining things. I do wish I could get out of the house more.  I wish I could go to church.  I wish I could develop more local friendships for myself and for Jack.  It would be nice.

But I am so truly and genuinely thankful for the dear friends that I have.

Kelli is my  soul sister.  She is my rock.  She is my snarky, loving, tender, angry friend who really GETS me on all levels.  She's a brilliant artist, and intelligent woman, and the very best friend a girl could have.  She is also my bon bon dealer, but that's another story.  I am currently cut off, darn her! We used to be local, but not in a while.  At first, we were local but our schedules just never let us see each other.  Then she became disabled, so we didn't see each other MUCH.  Now, we are several hundred miles apart, and I last saw her when she spent Christmas with my family in 2011.

Jane and I have parallel lives on opposite sides of the country.  We were pregnant together.  We became single moms together - at the same point in our lives for the SAME REASON!  We have been sick together.  We have raised our precious children together.  We have struggled together, cried together, laughed together, loved together.  We've met exactly once.  Our children are convinced (YAY!) that they are going to grow up, marry each other, have twelve children, and build a big house with two small apartments for their Mommies to live with them forever.  Young love! It makes my heart smile.

Arlie is my miracle friend.  She just is.  There is no better explanation.  She walked into my life when I desperately needed her, and unknowingly pointed me in the right direction.  She keeps doing that!  She is just absolutely fantastic, and she keeps showing me that I can do more than I give myself credit for. We've never met!

These women, our limited interactions, and their love have gotten me through the hard times and helped me celebrate the good times.  I don't know what I would do without them.  I know there are people who think that you can't have a true friendship with someone you have only really known online, but I know better.  See, all three of these girls I met online, back in the days when journal sites were the big thing to do!  I've known each of them for no less than seven years, and we've shared more than I've shared with most of my face-to-face, day-to-day acquaintances.  We've been genuine and vulnerable, and we've given our love with no question.

I just wanted to put this out there.

There are also some great groups online for support.  I've found a few of them, and I know there are more.  If you're like me, feeling pretty alone sometimes, doing this thing on your own - YOU ARE NOT ALONE.  Shoot me an email, and we'll find you a group!