Connecting the dots in DotMoms

By Robin P. and Kris

Robin: When I began writing for DotMoms in the spring of 2004, I was the 15th mom to join. One day, a co-worker said, "Hey Robin! Did you know one of the new DotMoms is from Massachusetts?" I was stunned. A DotMom, here? In my very own state?

Kris: I'll never forget the e-mail Robin sent me that day. She made me feel so welcome.

Robin: I was overjoyed, especially after reading Kris' posts. She sure knows how to make me laugh! Finally, a few months ago, we decided to meet. On my way to meet her for some outlet shopping, my cell phone rang. It was Kris, telling me she was running a bit late. I asked her what happened.

Kris: When I said, "It was a combination of calamities," Robin let out a big chuckle. Any nervousness I felt dissolved when I heard that laugh.

Robin: Kris tends to make even the worst situations sound funny, so I couldn't wait to hear what had happened to her.

Kris: Here's what happened. I bought an iced coffee at a drive-through and my sugar-mixing technique -- blowing into the drink through the straw -- backfired, big time. I was covered! Scrambling, I found a pile of ancient wet wipes in my purse, tore into them and found not one molecule of wetness. I dashed into the McDonald's bathroom, which had blow dryers, no paper towels. Using my quick-thinking skills, I grabbed toilet paper instead, which left embedded shreds of itself all over me. The coffee stains looked quite wearable in comparison. If you think that was dumb, consider that when I got back in the car, I forgot coffee had pooled on the lid and promptly spilled all over myself. It was SO FUNNY! Well, the next day it was.

Robin: Kris was exactly like I'd thought she'd be ... even better. When she told me her story, I laughed but I was truly amazed. I would've thrown a tantrum if that had happened to me. I probably would've called the whole meeting off and driven home in tears because my skirt and shirt had coffee stains on them. Kris just shrugged the whole thing off. I've never met anyone like her.

Kris: Robin really floored me with her bright personality and constant smile. Everyone should know that she is also very kind to flustered waitresses. I love that in a person! I'm so glad we finally consummated our friendship ... for lack of a better word.

Robin: After browsing, we headed into Ruby Tuesdays for lunch and more chatting. We were amazed to find we both attended UMass, Amherst, and we both majored in journalism, although I was there five years before she was.

Kris: The most amazing similarity? We both hold our pens the same wrong way, balanced on the ring finger. What are the odds?

Robin: I've been an outcast all my life because of my pen holding technique ... until I met Kris! If we weren't worried about being stuck in rush hour traffic, we probably could've talked for a few more hours.

Kris: Who is she kidding? We could have talked for days! Although, at the rate the words flew out of our mouths, we probably did cram in two days' worth of conversation.

Robin: We made a plan to meet again in October to go holiday shopping at the same mall. Neither of us could deny that we'd made a real connection. The only thing we couldn't figure out was, why did we wait so long?

Have you had the chance to meet any of your online friends? We'd love to hear your story.

Robin P. lives with her husband and daughter in a suburb south of Boston. Kris is a thirtysomething writer and stay-at-home mom who lives north of Boston with her husband and three children.

Comments

[Jess]

Hey, Robin, guess what -- I hold my pen that way too! And I've never met anyone else who does that. How weird!!!

[Julie]

Earlier this year I (finally) got to meet a group of online friends that I've known for about three years. It was totally surreal to walk into a house and see them in the flesh after seeing so many photos. We all likened it to meeting celebrities or something. (lol)

The incredible thing was that everyone was exactly like I expected them to be. There were no surprises, not one iota of weirdness. We only had two days together -- but what fabulous memories we made!

[Michelle]

After facing secondary infertility I joined an international online support group for women with Asherman's Syndrome (uterine scarring), a relatively rare condition. One day a post appeared from a woman from my town. It turned out we had firstborns the same age, and had lots of friends in common. We met for coffee and bonded over shared experiences. She went on to have twins via IVF, I quit the fertility roller coaster and am happy with our only child. But now our kids are in the same kindergarten class, so I look forward to getting to know her better.

[Maria P.]

I have met a couple of my online friends and they are good friends to me. The first one I met, we have attended each other's children's birthday parties every year and the other her teen daughter babysits my two kids. I have other online friends that I hope to meet one day.