Cyber Friends

I know I've mentioned on here before all the terrific people I have met online through the Rumor Queen forum. Well, Tony and I had the opportunity to meet one of my "cyber friends" and her husband face to face on Friday!

Elaine and I have been chatting online and via e-mail for many months. Elaine has a great sense of humor and has been a wonderful source of support to me during this long wait. Several times the two of us have discussed how we really should get together and finally meet face to face. We tossed around different ideas including meeting half way in Philadelphia for lunch and doing a little baby shopping. Then fate intervened and Elaine and her husband, Michael, were headed to Maryland last Friday and were able to see us during their trip.

Now, I know the polite thing to do would have been to have them over for dinner...but remember I have nursery furniture in our living room, a toilet in the nursery, and....well...you get the picture. So, we decided to meet for dinner at a vegetarian restaurant not too far from our house or the place Elaine and Mike were visiting in Maryland. Elaine's a vegetarian, too, so I wasn't being completely selfish. Tony and Michael seemed to manage just fine and we promised the next time we meet for dinner we'll go some place that serves Buffalo Wings!

Are you sure we just met?!?

When we were first seated at the table Elaine said she hoped we didn't mind but she had brought some friends along for dinner. With that she reached in a bag and pulled out matching ladybug framed pictures of our daughter's, Lily and Amanda. It was so sweet and thoughtful and brought tears to my eyes. We set the frames up on the table and had dinner with our daughters! I must say the girls were on their best behavior....not a peep out of them!

Pretend there's not a wine glass right in front of Lily's picture....bad Mommy! Isn't Amanda precious!

Now, maybe the reason the girls were so quiet is because their Mommy's were so busy chatting! When Elaine and I met it felt just like seeing a friend I had known forever. There was no awkwardness at all. We just hit the ground running....or maybe I should say talking! We had so much fun and just talked and talked and talked. We did let the boys get a word in every once in a while and they never asked the waiter if they could move to a different table so I think they enjoyed themselves, too.

Obviously our jaws weren't too tired from talking...we're still able to smile!

Unfortunately, the evening passed way too quickly. Before we knew it 3 hours had disappeared and there were just a few people left in the restaurant. We did leave before the waiter started to sweep under our feet but it was obvious it was closing time. Elaine and Michael had a long drive ahead of them so we had to end the evening before we were ready. It's really okay. I know we will see each other again. Next time Amanda and Lily can play together and Elaine, Michael, Tony, and I will pick up right where we left off. After all, isn't that what friends do?