I’ll have an order of excitement with a side dish of anxiety, please.
That about sums up the way I feel as I prepare to meet a group of women whom I have only known through social media. What should I wear? I will most certainly try on a dozen outfits before settling on the one that is best for dinner at a wonderful restaurant in New York City. What will they think of me? Will it be awkward?
Back in the olden days when social media was not yet called social media and the Cooking Channel was but a twinkle in a TV executive’s eye, I discovered by chance a group of women on the Internet who shared my passion for cooking.
While surfing the net (does anyone still say that?) I stumbled upon this friendly bunch and stopped to say hello, and received a welcome the likes of which I hadn’t seen since the Welcome Wagon showed up on our doorstep 15 years ago.
It was glorious to find others who, like me, had a proclivity for hoarding a massive quantity of recipes, who waxed rhapsodic over the latest Martha Stewart cookbook. Our virtual water cooler was an online message board monitored by the early morning television show, Good Morning America, on which one could post questions, comments, and start a conversation about cooking.
My culinary coterie became as treasured to me as their tried and true family recipes were to them. My morning ritual now included coffee and conversation with women from across the country. We talked about what we were making for dinner and discussed great Thanksgiving Day menus. We chatted about decorating birthday cakes and the best chili recipes. At Christmastime we had a virtual cookie exchange. 
I still have all those recipes.
Before too long, our range of topics expanded as we got to know each other better. We commented on events of the day, both around the world or in our own homes. We faced off on political issues, talked about parenting challenges, infertility, our many pets, sickness, graduations, mother-in-law issues. All the things you would share with friends.
After a couple of years, we decided we had to meet IRL. About eight of us traveled to Chicago and spent a fantastic weekend together. We talked and talked and talked and then talked some more. We had fabulous meals at different restaurants. We even took a pie crust cooking lesson at a local kitchen store. The best thing was that we never felt like this was the first we had met.
The GMA board was ultimately disbanded, but thanks to Facebook, many of us have stayed in touch, like you do with old friends who live far away but still hold a place in your heart.
So tonight, I will go home and start the fruitless process otherwise known as picking out an outfit to wear Thursday evening.
I do have butterflies, but more than that, I truly am psyched to meet 15 fabulous women whom I’ve come to know and admire through blogging. Fifteen women who consistently amaze me with their talent, writing ability and sense of humor. All of this without ever having spoken to or seen them.
Until it happens Thursday. IRL.
nice
Sounds like so much fun! I’m a member of a women’s fitness group on Facebook, and about 25 of them met up last March (from the US and Canada) at a Sports Festival in Columbus. I heard it was great… Meeting people in real life that you feel like you already KNOW. They’re doing it again this year. I hope you have a wonderful time — and that somebody takes lots of photos!
Brenda @ MyMidlifeProject recently posted…On the 80th Anniversary of My Mother’s Birth
and hopefully we’ll meet IRL very soon, Brenda!
Great article!
Thanks Ev-o!
I am so jealous of your get-together! I’m only in CT but the trip to NY on a weekday is impossible without missing time from work. Please know I’ll be there in spirit! And imagining what I’d wear, if I could come!
Looking forward to the pictures! Take lots, please!
Bonnie recently posted…The Big Book Club Getaway at Mohegan Sun
Ohhh Bonnie wish you could be there. Next time, hopefully.
Can’t wait to read your blog after the dinner!
You might even hear about it before the blog is written. 🙂
For years my work involved long conversations with clients on the phone – it was always interesting meeting them in person. Good luck and I am sure you will all have a great time.
MerCyn recently posted…A Home Grown American Phenomenon
Thank you, MerCyn! I think it will be a blast.
I’m so excited for you! Hug Chloe for me. We’ve been friends for a decade, but only met about five years ago!
OK, I grabbed the Kleenex tissues for your beautiful post. You know what, Helene? No matter what you wear, you will look beautiful because I already feel your beauty. Your soul comes through your writing and I look forward to meeting the author in person.
See you there! I’ll be the one with the curliest hair….:-)
Cathy
Cathy Chester recently posted…For Devotees of Downton Abbey: Here are the Men of Downton Before Downton
I can’t wait to read your blog after the dinner too! Please post pictures too! Wish I would be in the east coast to join the crew.
I’m trying to remember the first time I met someone in person whom I’d come to know online. It was so long ago that it may have pre-dated internet boards, or been when they were first starting up. We met on an email list! Since then, I’ve met many others. Some have become dear and true friends; others have remained casual relationships; some faded over time as lives moved in different directions. Every time I’m nervous and excited.
I hope you have a great time at your dinner!
Ginger Kay recently posted…St. Valentine’s Day – Isn’t it kinda fun?
Thanks, Ginger! I hope to meet you IRL one day.
Helene, so many of my FB friends have turned into real friends — IRL! — and I hope you’ll be one of them! I’m going to try to stop by on Thursday night. I land at JFK at 5 and have to be on a shuttle bus to a screening at 7:30! Will try to run over in between because I would love to meet you and the rest of our group!!
Lois Alter Mark recently posted…Give Your Life a Makeover with “Take 2: Your Guide to Creating Happy Endings and New Beginnings” by Leeza Gibbons
Lois, I am beyond excited to meet you!!! So glad your east coast trip coincides with our dinner!
Helene, I did not know you are such a foodie. I like you even more and wish I could meet with you and join the dinner.
I had a woman work for my company remotely for 3 years before I ever met her. She would never share a picture so I had an image in my mind and was surprised when I did actually met her. It was a bit awkward since I picked her up at the airport and walked right past her. Lesson I learned, share photos!
Haralee recently posted…5 Things that are Not Invented Yet but Should Be
Haralee, are you going to BlogHer? I so want to meet you IRL!
To put your mind at ease, I’ll reveal what I’m planning on wearing (from top to bottom): Cashmere, Denim, Suede… depending on the weather I may wear my leather jacket (if it’s too cold you can expect that I will be the one in the ten-year-old black Land’s End stadium coat). I’m combining dinner with some shopping (going in early to hit a fabric store and a clothing store), so I’ll probably show up schlepping a few bags. (Hopefully full of treasures !) I am going to try to be a good citizen and bring along some reusable bags, but that’s only if I remember to do so. (I will inevitably forget and feel terrible about it, but what can you do?)
Whatever you wear will be fine. I had suggested sweatpants, Uggs, and funny nose and glasses for dinner attire, but no one seemed up for that. Maybe next time? LOL!
I am less interested in what you all will be wearing (though I am sure you will look fabulous!); more interested in what you all will be saying. (I’ll be saying some things, too — perhaps you haven’t noticed, but I’m a bit of a chatterbox!) I have never met anyone from the internet IRL, so this will be a whole new experience for me. I can’t wait!
Jacqueline DeMuro recently posted…What passes for normal on an ordinary Saturday
I will dress for warmth, too. Sweats would have been perfect. Next get-together let’s do sweats and funny glasses. Can’t wait to meet you!
So bummed I can’t be with you girls on Thursday nite-I know it will be fun!
Mary Anne F51 recently posted…Wordless Wednesday
Oh Mary Anne I am REALLY bummed you can’t be there. Dying to meet you, funny lady!
Helene, what a wonderful entry to your blog!
I just had the most wonderful rush of memories from those years on the GMA board. The love and friendships that I made on that board are priceless. What a blessing that you wonderful women have been in my life!
That GMA recipe board exchange, actually became a recipe for life exchange.
Learning how to genuinely share ,our fears, our humor , our compassion, and our faith & love for life with each other was a gift from God.
I still cherish those friendships. Thank you for being my friend! Love you!
Julie, so beautifully said. You are awesome. Love you too!
Hope you all have a great time on Thursday night.
Sounds like a lot of fun.
I have such fond memories of the days on GMA>
Still have some of the recipes I fund there.
Denise
We did have great conversations, didn’t we? I saved a lot of the recipes because they were so good.
Helene, I’ll tell you what I’m thinking of wearing if you tell me! Funny how we think. I’ve often heard that women don’t dress for men but for other women. True!
I will be at that dinner too and I am most nervous about the fact that I am very new to this group and most people will probably ask, “WHO are you?” But still, I know this is such a nice group of women that I am sure to feel comfortable soon enough. I’ll probably be the quiet one, though. 🙂 Oh and I have no idea what I’m going to wear but I tend to be a casual gal…hope jeans and boots are okay!
Emily recently posted…Wordless Wednesday: GO BLUE!
Jeans and boots: YES! So glad you will be there, Emily!
I hope you have a fantastic time meeting IRL! There’s some talk about setting a date for something similar on the Left Coast, where I live! Let us know how it goes (as I’m sure you will!).
SO wish I could be there! I’ll be in NY in June. Hopefully we can get the group together again for another dinner. I’m dying to meet all of you.
Let us know when, Lisa!
Helene, that was such a fun time in Chicago, November 2004. I also thought it was neat that we all brought something from our home area. I wish I was as gifted with the written word as you to express how much I loved the years we had an active group at the ABC/GMA recipe site. I loved that group and stopped in often during the day to see the post of the dear foodie friends I had made. Although many of us have kept in touch, it has not been the same. I hope this blog group of yours will be able to keep it going longer. Our GMA group did have a wonderful 6-8 years. I do miss you all. How neat it was when Evan was part of the Olympics and we were again able to come together for a common cause. I send bday reminder notes around for several years, but I decided to drop that this year. You are all still in my heart. I will post a picture I still hold dear on FB from that Chicago trip. I hope your blog members will take a group picture Thursday. You will cherish it later. Blessings to you all. Helen in Ark.
Helen, you have always been such a sweetie. We did have a blast in Chicago, didn’t we? Such great memories. Thank you for posting the photo. Blessings to you, my friend.