Friends in our lives range from acquaintances we see and chat with each week at soccer or church to those few individuals that know everything about us and like us anyway. In the four years I have been a stay-at-home mom, and even those years when I was working, I have found it difficult to get past the "busy-ness" of life to find time to connect with individuals on a deeper level. Time certainly plays a factor in that, but so does the ability to find persons with interests and likes similar to your own. Message boards have truly been key for me to develop some very wonderful, hopefully lifelong friendships. In discovering these online friends it has helped me realize how much I need girlfriends in my life, and the importance they play in my day-to-day living. All too often I have been content to go it alone and keep things to myself. Girlfriends, whether online or in "real life" are both very real to me and have showed me that, while I am strong on my own, I am even stronger with my army of gal pals around me.

The third week of August is Friendship Week. So many of the members of Womens-Place have discovered that tight-knit friendships can be formed on the other side of the computer screen. In light of this, we thought it would be fun to have a few of our members share what online friendships mean to them personally.

I have met so many wonderful women online, here at Womens-Place and on WorldCrossing. But my very special online friends are the group of ladies I talk to from our August 2002 baby board. We started as a huge group on Oxygen and from there 14 of us stayed together to keep one other up to date on our lives. However, it's so much more than that, I can go online and tell them anything. They are there for me when I need someone to listen; they give advice when I need it and when I don't. We have been through the births of our children together, and some of us, another child since then. I feel closer to them than I do some of my “in real life” friends. We laugh together, cry together and vent together. My one wish is someday we can all get together somewhere and meet in person. I would love to give each and every one of them the biggest hug ever! I don't know what I'd do without them. ~~Michelle McDonough

I think the most amazing thing about on-line friendships is that they are sometimes more heartfelt than in real life friends. I remember when I had abdominal surgery for my ectopic pregnancy, I was so sad and miserable and in a lot of pain both emotionally and physically. My doorbell rang as a delivery was made, flowers and a teddy bear sent from England from an online friend I had never met. A day later another delivery arrived from some women on a closed board. I had never even met half of them, and they sent me a concrete garden bench with a scripture and two angels to represent the special memory of the two lives that I lost the day of my surgery. It amazes me to see the sisterhood formed through loss, gain, sadness, joy, pain, life and death. This is a bond that is not easily broken, most of us cannot relate to “in real life” friends our sorrows and joys. But when you bring a diverse group of women together from all around the world, you begin to be able to relate to someone who has gone through or is enduring what you have gone through. It is then that a bond is formed and a friendship blossoms. ~~Chelle

I cannot even tell how much our private board for October 1999 Moms has meant to me! They welcomed me with open arms into their closed circle of mommies, and I am so grateful! Most of them had been together since pregnancy, and my October 1999 baby was already about 2 years old! There, I have formed such close relationships with some of the women, and ALL of them mean a great deal to me! When one of us is going through a hard time - we all suffer (emotionally) right along with that person. If one of us has joyful news - we all share in the joy! We share in the pain, the heartache, the laughs, the joy, the love, the closeness - ALL of life's emotions. We are truly blessed to have such a wonderful group of women to confide in, to get advice from, to cry to… ~~Elizabeth G

I have been with some of these online ladies for years. I have known one of my great friends for almost five years. I first met her on About.com. After my first miscarriage she introduced me to MomsOnline, and I have been with her ever since. She has been through two pregnancies and two miscarriages with me and has always lent a shoulder for me to cry, laugh or vent upon. And she has NEVER complained when I have needed her to listen. I think the thing that stands out in my memory the most about her is that after my first miscarriage she sent me a little angel that was being held in God’s hand. To this day it still sits next to my bedside table.

The other great friend I met online and have met "in real life" was my support coach while in labor with Emma. She is AWESOME! She shared a very special day with my husband and I, and I was honored to have her with us. She is truly a special person I won’t ever forget! ~~ Host AmyH

I echo the feelings that many have already expressed. I count many of my online friends among my BEST friends. I stumbled across the Parent Time boards in 1999 and to my surprise I found that real friendships could be formed online. My husband used to be skeptical of what he called my "imaginary friends," but he isn't any more! He has seen the caring and generosity of the wonderful ladies I have met online, and although he still bugs me sometimes about how much time I spend on the computer, he knows that it is not wasted time. Much of my computer time is spent building friendships that are valuable, but that I could never have had in real life simply because of the distances. I know that whether I have a funny story to tell about my kids, something I need to vent my frustration over, a need for prayer, a question about home schooling or anything else, a situation I need an objective opinion on, or just need a friend to chat with, there are friends on my message boards that I can go to and can trust. ~~Kympossible

Friends are so much more than a nicety in life; in so many cases they are the glue that holds us together. I feel so blessed by the amazing people in my life that I am honored to call my friends. Although I try to frequently tell my friends how much they are appreciated, I plan to not let this month slip away without sharing how extremely special they are to me.

Lynette is a wife and stay-at-home mom from the Pacific Northwest. She has many remarkable friendships with individuals both on and off the computer and is extremely grateful for those relationships. However, she is proud to say that she has been married to her VERY best friend for 16 years this month.