And for this..........

I am a very lucky girl. I have much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.

I am thankful for my own little family. My husband and daughters, the son-in-laws and boyfriend. Of course I am thankful for the most beautiful grandchildren ever.

I'm thankful for my mom and step dad. My sisters and brother and brother-in-law and sister-in-law. I'm thankful for my nieces and nephew and my great nieces. I'm also thankful for my in laws.

I'm thankful for my home and my job. I'm thankful for my friends. But this year especially, I am thankful for two very special friends who came into my life in an unconventional way.

Meet Sharon and Rhonda.

We met in the winter of 2009 in the land of blogging on the Internet. Blogging was a very uncharted course for me at the time. I had just started getting involved in it when these two very special ladies started commenting on my posts.

One of my very favorite preschool moms got me to try blogging. She said she thought I would love it and if I didn't, I could just delete the blog. So...I tried and I loved it. In the first month, I "met" Sharon and Rhonda.

Rhonda is a wife and mom and grandma, just like me. Her focus is her family. I quickly found out that Rhonda's daughter Steph was good friends with the preschool mom who got me started in blogging. We also realized that we lived 15 minutes away from each other. We met in person for the first time when we walked the March of Dimes Walk for Babies together in the spring of 2009.

Sharon is also a wife, mother and grandma. She is a very family oriented person. She is also the Energizer bunny of this threesome. You would not believe some of the things this lady has done. The problem with Sharon is that she lives in Rhode Island. I shouldn't say that is a problem, but I can't get to her in 15 minutes.

I am amazed sometimes at the bond that has formed between the three of us. We have so much in common. We all have adult children. Between us, we have 18 grandchildren. They are the lights of our lives. We have all been married to our husbands forever. We have all lost our fathers. Sharon and I in our 20's and Rhonda just a few months ago. The list goes on and on.

For the last few years, we would talk about meeting each other. Not over the Internet wires, but in person. How wonderful it would be to have all us there, live and in person in the same room. What a dream come true that would be.

Sometimes dreams come true!

I was reading a comment from Sharon on one of my Facebook posts. The last sentence said "What are you doing Sunday November 20th?" Ahhh not much. What do you want me to do? I couldn't believe that she wanted me to get a hold of Rhonda and meet her and her husband Barry for brunch. She and Barry were flying into Chicago for two days and then on to South Bend for the Notre Dame/Boston College football game. They would be heading back to the airport on Sunday and would be going right past my exit.

To say that I said yes would be an understatement. I was so excited, I couldn't believe it. This was truly going to be a dream come true. I immediately emailed Sharon and said absolutely yes. I then emailed Rhonda and she emailed me back almost immediately with a resounding yes.

I called a local restaurant known for their Sunday brunch and made a reservation for six at noon on the 20th. It would be Sharon and Barry, Rhonda and Mike and Dick and I. The plan was beginning to take shape. I emailed the girls and told them the plan. I couldn't believe that this was really going to happen. Could I really be this lucky?

Sunday morning came and I was as excited as a child on Christmas morning. I got in the shower and started the process of trying to look the best I possibly could. I drove two daughters crazy with the "Which jeans?" and "Which sweater?" questions. I was finally ready and Dick and I were out the door.

I will never forget seeing Sharon for the first time. We saw each other through the doors before I ever actually got into the restaurant. I could see her mouth say "There they are" and she was moving toward me as I came through the door. We hugged and then we looked at each other and hugged again. She said hello and I could hear her voice. This may sound silly to you, but it was such a thrill to hear her voice. Barry came and hugged me and introduced himself. Like I wouldn't know who he was! I hugged Rhonda and was sad to hear that Mike was sick and wouldn't be joining us.

We were seated at our table and the fun began. We talked and we talked and we talked. We talked about our kids and grand kids. We talked about our parents and siblings. We talked about blogging and how we met. We, of course took pictures. And then we talked some more.

As I sat with these two wonderful, witty, genuine, beautiful and inspiring women, I couldn't believe that it was all happening. Twenty years ago, this could never have happened. Not even ten years ago. We are so blessed that we live in this time of technology.

All too soon, three hours had passed and Barry said it was time to head to the airport. We hugged and we hugged some more. We said that we would do this again and I truly believe we will. This brunch was one of the best three hours I have spent in a long time. I will remember it for a long time to come. These people have made a mark on my heart that I am so grateful for.

Many people I know don't understand the blogging world. I've been told more than once that I waste my time with such nonsense and most recently that I should "get a life". Believe me when I tell you that I have an awesome life. Blogging is a small, but very wonderful and fulfilling part of it. Without blogging, I never would have met these fantastic people and that would be a tragedy.

On this Thanksgiving morning, I am thankful for my family and friends. My home and my job and all the other wonderful things in my life. But this Thanksgiving morning, I have Sharon and Rhonda in my life

And for this I am truly thankful!

A very special thank you to Barry and Dick for putting up with us with a smile on their faces.