The Simmering Mind

As I mentioned in a previous post, a week ago I met an “internet friend” for the first time, picking her up from the airport with her two daughters and taking her home for a week with us.

It is a mind-blowing and surreal thing when you meet someone you’ve known for years, but only ever seen online.

Suddenly they are dimensional, stepping into your physical world like a character rising out of a book.

They are at the same time comfortably familiar, and completely new.

You know their heart and soul, but not their mannerisms or the way they walk and move.

Hugs are precious – fleeting physical reminders that they are true, touchable, tangible beings that share the same air and humanity as you do.

For a quiet introvert like me, who tends to communicate better and more deeply when I can write out my thoughts, it was especially interesting to take what would normally come out in emails or IMs, and instead force it through my mouth. 😛

There really is no such thing as “internet friends.”  They are real souls whose physical selves have not yet crossed your path, that’s all!  Someday I look forward to meeting all my “internet kindred spirits” at various times, or maybe not until eternity – but for this week I blissfully enjoyed having one of my dearest companions here in the flesh, in my house!  It was a good time.

And now…back to “reality,” which seems a little emptier and flatter than it did before!

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Have you ever met someone for the first time after knowing them long-distance for ages? What was your experience like?