Without Friends I’d Be Dead. Stop Calling Me Dramatic.

Although I fell in love with Alex months ago, it was her recent commitment to limiting how much television that she allows her children to watch that made me realize that she is perfect for Small Moments Mondays.  By limiting television, she is attempting (and succeeding) to be more present for her two beautiful children. Whether she’s playing chase, dragging a kiddie pool through her house, or playing Go Fish, she is living in the moment with her children and she is making those memories that they will all carry with them. Check out her  Harcore Television Challenge!

I truly admire Alex, she is honest, open, funny, intelligent, and vulnerable, all of which are evidenced in God, What If I Cannot Handle It?, My Son, Revisited, and Our Common Humanity Is Easier To Find Than You Think.  Check Your Pants.

I am so grateful that our paths have crossed. I would certainly call her my PF.

(If you are unfamiliar with Twitter, here’s a brief rundown, Twitter Cheat Sheet.)

Thank you, Alex, for coming by and sharing your small moment with us!

Without Friends I’d Be Dead. Stop Calling Me Dramatic by Alex

I don’t do small very well. I have a loud laugh, big ideas, and a tendency to forget to use my INDOOR VOICE.

So Small Moments Monday intimidates me.

And as I’m staring at the computer screen, I have a twelve DM interchange with my best bloggy friend. Saying nothing and everything.

How’s your morning?

Stress poops, ahoy!

Your readers rule.

What do you think about this idea?

I’m crying.

Why didn’t you sleep?

We should tell them I’m your organizational coach. Haha.

She didn’t even TRY to murder me. Boo.

I hope today is a better day.

Our friendship is a fluke. I respond to something random in a conversation I’m not technically included in. She follows me back because of it. I DM’d her about a song. And then tell her that it’s stupid because she probably gets DMs about the song all the time. She says no, she’s never heard of the song. In the process, I accidently guessed her real name.

She and I needed more than 140 characters to finish our conversations over the next few weeks. We moved to email. Then exchanged phone numbers. Then met in person. Then the big finale FACEBOOK FRIENDS. (Friendships are TOTALLY like dating. Except for the kissing part.)

All the while, we refer to each other as pfs. Potential friends. Until one day I realize that we are FRIEND FRIENDs. But ff is already taken so we go nostalgic and breaking out the pf here and there.

And now I have this person who gets blogging and mothering and twitter-ing and insists my impatience is apart of my charm. (After I DM her: WHERE ARE YOU five minutes after my first DM of the day.)

Last week, while discussing BlogHer, I warn her of my overpacking tendencies (I GO BIG PEOPLE) and she responds: I am an underpacker. Together, we make one functional adult. Hoorah!

I can’t imagine traveling this bumpy road of blogging and writing and social awkwardness without a pf.

If you don’t have one, get one! Go out on a limb with someone you like in this bloggy world. Because as big as the Inter-ba-nets may be, it’s just made up of people. And moments.

Moments that wouldn’t be the same without friends. Meanwhile, you can always DM me… if you like loud impatient people.

When Alex Iwashyna isn’t DM-ing with her pf, she blogs at Late Enough mostly about life, parenting, marriage, politics, culture, religion, and her inability to wake up in the morning and not hate everyone. Often zombies, fire, and rude Southern people make appearances, but Alex can pretty much guarantee that she’ll still be in her pjs while fighting them off. She also hangs out on the Twitter as @L8enough and Facebooky.

28 Comments

Filed under Guest Post, Small Moments Monday

28 responses to “Without Friends I’d Be Dead. Stop Calling Me Dramatic.

  1. loved the post, am so behind on this tweetering lingo. am so with you on the PJs front. I take pride on the fact that normally I don’t take mine off until I have to pick up my kids from school. I have done the odd emergency milk run (COFFEE!) in my posh hood in my pjs with a big smile

  2. Oh I love that rosy, glowy feeling of a new friend when you can just *feel* that it’s going to grow into something wonderful.

    Like dating but without the painful lingerie.

    Lovely post! Off to follow!!

  3. Just stumbled onto your site and I loved your friendship story.
    I am now following.
    Have a great Monday.

  4. KLZ

    It is so very nice to have found some pfs to relate to on the interwebs. I feel ya!

  5. Yes! At first? It’s just this sea of people and their words. You chat with this one, then that one, and eventually, they start to be individuals. And relationships develop. Lots of them are fun and chatty and awesome, and a few are much more.

    Thanks!

  6. I so agree! I’ve met some really awesome people on Twitter that I never would’ve otherwise.

  7. Loud impatient people are my kind of people, where do I sign up?
    I am going to read about Alex’s TV challenge. I am trying to cut it out too and I need some support.

  8. Twitter/bloggy/FB friends are the best aren’t they? I’m always so surprised by the connection between two people over the internet. I have yet to meet one of my bloggy friends for real, but I can’t wait for that day.

    • It’s totally weird and awesome to meet people in person. I was so stressed that I told my pf: Just so you know, I’m not as funny in person.

      Lowering expectations helps. HAHA

    • I met my husband on the internet from 3000+ miles away, have moved to the UK from Canada, and married him five months ago. All because we started chatting on Second Life. It is amazing the connections you can make in this virtual sort of world, isn’t it?

      You really must go out and meet one of your online friends, Alex! It is an amazing experience, and I have some truly close friends because of finally meeting them in person.

  9. Can’t wait to meet both of you awesome dames at BlogHer! I’m an underpacker, too, but I think I’ll err on the other side this time!

  10. Except for the part where we move into real life with these friendships? I am all on board. I love that moment of profound connectedness with another invisible person. That ability to suddenly see what can’t be seen.

    I love words.

    And some of those moments? Some of those words? Build upon one another. And a friendship is born.

    Love that.

  11. I totally think of you as a pf. Maybe it’s because with every post I read, I see more of myself (although I like to think of myself as enthusiastic as opposed to loud). And because you are so damned cute.

  12. AWE.SOME.

    and yeah, i just made that two words.

  13. I love this post. I am just getting to that point where I feel like I am definitely becoming friends with certain individuals on twitter. It IS a bunch like dating. First it’s all polite. Then you start to really share and when you can DM each other the REAL stuff? You are friends…well pt’s for sure. My day is filled with small moments like this. Just when I need a smile or a kick in the pants, certain friends show up on twitter and are there to do just that.

    IRL friends who are not on twitter? Just don’t get the real connections that are made.

    Twitter? is magical.

  14. Alex, another awesome post as always! You rock!

  15. I am loving all of my pfs.

    And the amazing women who are so out of my league, kind of like Gerard Butler as far as men go, well, I can stalk them. Their blogs anyway. And I do so with solid regularity.

    Awesome post- you put into words my thoughts exactly, minus the weirdness that I seem to project at times…

    Thank you for sharing.

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