Circle of Friends

Friends.  We all have them.  Childhood friends, casual acquaintances, close friends.  Some are part of our daily lives and others we may only see or hear from occasionally.  We meet and make friends in various ways:  school, work, parties, playgroups, and kids' activities.  I have friends that I have met in all of those traditional ways.  But I also have a group of very special friends that I met on the Internet.  Before you begin to think I'm a few cards shy of a full deck, let me explain further.  When I was pregnant with A, I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes.  In doing some online research, I stumbled on a website called babycenter.  In addition to the diabetes info I sought, I also found a group called January 2006 babies.  I began visiting the site frequently and eventually began posting on a thread titled Moms of Many.  All of the moms posting on this thread had three or more kids.  There were ten of us that posted on a regular basis and we clicked right away.  eventually we formed a private group page on another website and the rest is history.  We've been a group for five years now and I count these nine women among my nearest and dearest friends.  We live in nine different states, have a variety of backgrounds, political views, and parenting approaches.  We have 42 children between us, 41 with us and one angel in heaven.  It shouldn't work, but it does.  Each of us bring something unique to our group and I can not imagine not having the  Moms of Many in my life.  Over the years we've given each other support, love, friendship, and  a lot of laughs.  We've laughed together, cried together, and gossiped together.  I've had the pleasure of meeting all but three of these women in person.   Someday we would like to have a big meet up so we can all meet in person at last.  We go back and forth on whether we should include husbands and children or just have it be us girls.  Either way, I know it will be great.  But until then, J, E, L, A, S, C, H, M, and Z, I count you girls and your friendship among the biggest blessings in my life.  Love you all!


I also want to add that in addition to the nine fantastic ladies I mention above, I have also made other wonderful friends online.  While it's true that while on babycenter, I made the strongest connection with the Moms of Many, there are other ladies that I consider friends a well.  While I have only met one in person, I still consider them friends and will always remember our Jan 06 babycenter days with fondness.  (For those wondering, babycenter changed its format a few years back and just never recovered the charm of the old board.)