The Grandest of All Ships...

...is Friendship.

I've got this on my mind a lot these days.

Mostly due to renewed friendships via Facebook.

But I'm not going to talk about those today.

Today I'm talking about my bloggie friendships.

Who knew when I started this whole thing that I would become friends with strangers? Strangers who I've never met face to face. Strangers that I would share parts of my life with.

And to go even further, I actually consider them FRIENDS.

Not people I merely talk to through the miracle of modern science but honest to goodness real friends.

I read a lot of blogs (not lately but I'll get back into the swing shortly) and chit-chat with many bloggers, but there's only a handful out there that I'd consider a friend. Someone with whom I've either talked to on the phone or shared a deep dark secret (or not) with via a series of e-mails.

I've even been on the receiving end of gifts AND I've sent gifts or a card.

I mean, that's trust right there. To give out your address.

I've even gotten drunk phone calls and drunk texts. But of course, that's from one person and one person only! Hi, Jess! Love ya!

So, today, I'm going to give a big old shout out and THANK YOU to several bloggers who have touched my life in someway outside of this bloggie world.

To Jess: Thank you for the many phone calls both drunk AND sober. You never fail to put me in a good mood either from a drunken text message at 11 at night or an instant message when I'm having a shitty day at work. I can not WAIT to meet you in August. You are someone that if I had met you in real life first, I would have instantly been friends with. You are my kind of people.

To Kat: I have to have you right behind Jess because I kind of think of all of us as the Three Stooges, except without all the eye poking and face slapping. Somehow, in 140 characters on Twitter, you managed to ease some of my fears I have about a friend going to Afghanistan in August. Just knowing that you're there for me to use as a sounding board or a shoulder to cry on brings me comfort. I do hope that when you do come back to the States, we are able to meet up in Savannah and get totally hammered with Jess and Co.

To Sassy: You rock for making my little girls day by doing a special order for earrings for your daughters. She was so proud of herself for doing such a good job. You will always hold a special place in my heart for making her feel so big. Damn, Sassy just reminded me that we're meeting up in October! Can't wait for that one, too! I love all the bloggers that are coming to New Orleans this year!

To Pseudo: I don't know what it is about you that touches my heart so, but you do. I consider you to be a very special friend and I can't even tell you why. There are just some people out there that touch you and you can't explain it. You're one of those. Of course, anytime someone does anything for my daughter (see Sassy's above), they will always, always, always have a spot carved out for them in my heart. That completely AWESOME birthday present you sent her not only made her day, but made mine as well. The Hawaii themed items inside made for a very special present indeed. The card you included was fantastic and even though she's only 9, I think she understood the meaning in the words and understood the wonder that is the Internet for bringing you into her life. Anytime I talk about my blog at home, she always asks about Aunt Pseudo. She is thrilled that she has a BFF in Hawaii.

To Rhea: I can't even begin to thank you for all that you've done for me and LOML with our etsy businesses. Rhea was my first customer when I started this whole etsy thing. She's bought a few more items from me since then and not surprisingly, was also LOML's first customer. It's not so much the money that you spent that makes you special. It's that you believed in my product enough to actually make the purchase. That purchase gave me the confidence I needed to persevere.

To Captain Dumbass: You know, I can't really thank you for what you've done for me. Well, I can say thank you, but of course, I can't tell the whole Internets exactly why. All they need to know is that you are an incredible secret keeper and for that, you will always have my gratitude. Plus, you're sending me a polar bear. Who needs anything more? Have you gotten your package (hee, hee, I said package) yet? I hope they didn't explode. If you want more, holler and I'll go get some.

To Irish Gumbo: Thank you. Thank you for listening. Thank you for trusting me with your stories. Thank you for being there. I mean for really being there.

There are so many others out there that have touched my life in some way or another. Even if in a small way. There are way too many to lists in one post. Perhaps I shall save another list for another day. To each of you, though, I give thanks right now.

This is the first post in a series of thankful posts I plan to do every weekend. So, if you weren't mentioned above, don't fret. You'll get your day in the Dawg house sun soon enough.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Later,

Mama Dawg