Tuesday, March 08, 2016

Three introverts walk into a bar...

A couple weeks ago, I caught up with two blogfriends over fabulous martinis.

The truth is, I never knew either Kris or Megan in person all that well. But I felt like I knew their hearts, and they felt like they knew mine, and when the opportunity to catch up presented itself, I jumped.

There aren't many people in my current world who were part of the microcosm that was the DC blog scene in the aughts.

Ten years ago, blogs were rather new to me, but as it turned out, I was late to the party, as people had been blogging for years. In fact, the DC blog scene was on the wane, although I didn't know it.

For me it was fresh and exciting, and I was single and heartbroken, and I threw myself in with wild abandon. I could pour my heart out, and not burden my friends. There were strangers on the Internet who would actually read what I wrote!

I started going to the DC blogger happy hours. I made blog friends, in person and virtually. Like Internet dating, which I'd also thrown myself into, there was an entire world of people out there that I wouldn't have known otherwise. The blog scene became a huge part of my world.

But unlike Internet dating, many of us were telling people, up front and in public, what was in our hearts.

And so I got to know people, in an odd and very intense way, well before I actually met them in person. There are still people I care about that I've never actually met.

Lucky for me, I did meet Megan and Kris in person. I read their blogs, and I loved how funny and real they were. In person they were just the same--hilarious and so very candid.

They, like many others, had been blogging for a while before I started. Their posts were eagerly awaited. They got lots of comments! People were in awe of them! Kris presented at BlogHer! She was famous! She knew really really famous bloggers!

Like many others, they stopped, while I was still fully immersed. Actually, Kris briefly started another blog (hooray!). And then she stopped for good.

I missed knowing what was going on in my friends' lives without seeing them in person. Do you know how perfect blogs are for introverts? You can know all about your friends actions, feelings, kids, and such, without leaving your house!

Best ever. And then it was over.

But fortunately there is Facebook, and we are friends. And so, as Kris and I realized when catching up a couple weeks ago, seven years can go by without seeing each other in person, and somehow it doesn't feel like it.

But it had been that long since we had actually shared drinks and stories. It was fabulous. They're both still hilarious and so very real. They just don't write their feelings on the Internet for all to scrutinize anymore.

We reminisced about the bloggy days, and the characters in them.

The blog world was a weird and intense place, much like down the rabbit hole. You could know such personal things about people you didn't actually know. We talked about the intense moments. I remembered when Kris's father died. When her cat Bug got cancer. When Megan ran into that guy at the airport. We talked about Stacy, with whom Kris was in-person friends.

It may sound odd to talk "remember whens" for events you weren't actually part of. But they felt so real. When you read heartbreaking things written by a terrific writer, you are right there in it with her. And I was, over and over. Oh, I was.

For me, getting into blogging helped heal me at a time when I needed a great deal of...well, everything. I needed to write my feelings. I needed support. I needed to feel connected. I needed people who understood.

I got all those things and more. I made some dear, dear friends. Friends I may not see in person often enough, but who I love nonetheless.

Sometimes I feel dorky still blogging, like I'm sitting at the party eating the last of the onion dip long after everyone has left. But my blog has been such a part of my life for so long now, I'd miss it if I let go.

It sounds cheesy to say that falling into the blogworld was a gift, but it was. And I am so lucky for it.

13 comments:

  1. Oh Lisa, I'm so grateful you're still here. Thank you.

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    1. Thank you so much, Laura. I'm so glad to know you and this makes me feel great.

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  2. Oh Lisa, I'm so grateful you're still here. Thank you.

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  3. I'm so glad you continue to write here on LG, that it is fulfilling to you. I'm so glad we're connected. I read The New Courier and the blog that preceded it is how I found your blog...I miss reading Kris' blog as she is such a great writer and her stories were moving and funny and delightful.
    I've recently discovered Podcasts. Like your introduction to blogging, I'm late to the game. The podcasts I subscribe to are all based on real stories and spark creativity or connection within me and I value them greatly. They aren't a replacement for blogs and are very different medium but I'm sort of hooked.
    Hugs to you LG

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    1. Heather! Did I know that you wound up on LG through Kris? If so, I'd forgotten! I love all those old connections, how you'd read one and then see a comment by someone else, or click on a link, and it would take you to the next one and the next. It was a nice little world.
      I haven't gotten into podcasts (so I'm really reallllllly late to that party) although Nick loves them. I think if I still commuted, I might. But when I am sitting alone, I don't invite extra sound into my head, if that makes sense. No music, no speaking. But maybe I will load up on some for the next car trip.
      Big hugs to you, lovely lady!

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  4. Don't go anywhere, I appreciate you and your writing (says another introvert) ;)

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    1. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. This is a comfy little home to me. And as my friend Rob said, "Introverts Unite! Separately!"

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  5. I enthusiastically agree with everything you've said. I have blog friends I've only seen in person a few times but I know more about their lives than people I see at work every day. Unfortunately, many of them have stopped blogging completely or only update sporadically. I, too, have occasionally questioned if blogging is dumb, but it's still the best outlet I know of to share my long-form writing.

    http://zandria.us

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    1. Exactly! We knew so much about each other--way more than we knew about the coworker we saw daily! I do miss that.

      Agree on the outlet to share long-form writing. Even if it's just to keep flexing writing muscle, it is positive.

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  6. I for one am glad your blog is still here! I don't comment much anymore, but I read, I always read. And I recently (today recently) started writing again. After a year long hiatus I'm pretty sure my readers have all gone, but blogging is cathartic and sometimes you just need to put it out there in the ether, so it's not just in your heart. So thanks for always being there, I've truly enjoyed seeing you and your family grow.

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    1. YES! That is so true for me. Sometimes you just need to put it out there so it's not stuck in your heart. If I write it down, I can start to let it go. Thank you so much for the kind words! I"m glad you've started writing again. Big hugs!

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  7. You are an important part of my daily life Lisa! I wish, for all selfish reasons, that you would write forever and ever.....

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