July 10, 2000
On friends becoming family
by jonafun
Today, as I flew home from Texas, I came upon a startling revelation... an epiphany, if you will. I finally realized that I consider a large group of my friends from the Internet to be more like family than just friends. I'm closer to many of them than I am to my own flesh and blood. I see them online every day, and yet some of them I've seen in real life only twice. Yet I feel they are more of my family than my own parents.
I flew 1500 miles for a 17 minute wedding between two of them this weekend. But I flew out there not just for the wedding, but for the camaraderie, for the celebration of a wonderful occasion. Sure, I could've stayed at home, watched TV, and looked at the pictures that everyone else took later (like a certain friend of ours in DC - PFFT!). But I wanted to be there. I wanted to share in their joy. I wanted to see my friends become family.
It was good. The ceremony was wonderful. Short, but wonderful. The bride was stunning, the groom was, well, a lucky so-and-so, and everything went off without a hitch. And except for the Northern contingent, everyone is, as far as we know, home safely, and chilling out before (ugh) work tomorrow.
I really can't explain how it is that I'm closer with my friends than with my family. They seem to get along with me better (but then, they also -try- more). I'm just glad that I have friends who have already proven that they'll stick with me in the bad times... They were here for me when I almost died after an automobile accident. Even some of my family didn't come visit me like that. Or call, or write, or keep me motivated.
I guess I just wanted to say to all those IRC weenies I call my family, thanks. And congrats to S and R.
And PFFFFFFFFFT! to you flesh-and-blood people who don't want to fly to California and visit me.
Published: July 11, 2000
Editor: stacy