I started blogging to document our prairie life and growing family nearly three years ago. After two weeks of a private blog, I have had some blogging reflection time.
As I have said before, blogging has opened my mind, my eyes and world from the prairie corner of North Dakota that I live on with my family to a big but connected world of moms like me. I talk about some bloggers like they are my own personal friends and even though we have never met IRL (in real life), we are girlfriends.
I love that blogging helps me stay connected to my family members and lifelong friends from my childhood, college and pre-prairie dwelling life.
I love how blogging connects me to women like me with similar interests and sometimes varying views and builds friendships via blogging with out ever meeting in real life.
I also absolutely love that some of you have become my REAL LIFE friends as result of our blogging connection.
I have approximately 11 friends named Sara or Sarah. And my newest social media friend Sarah came to visit earlier this fall. She went from a blogging friend to real life friend.
Then there was Val. She is the closest proximity mommy blogger in North Dakota I know yet we had never met in real life. Everyone that I met in my agriculture world of course assumed that Val and I were the best of friends because we both live in the middle of no where in North Dakota. They assumed we were neighbors. Val and I were Facebook friends and blogger friends but had never met in real life. We had attempted to meet but never actually been able to make it work with our crazy kid wrangling lives.
But Sarah changed all of that. She called me…old school style on the telephone…on my landline…not even cell phone and said Val and she would road trip over on Saturday night to visit.
Blogger friends to real life friends:
Sarah, Val and me
Despite me having to manage both of my girls plus a friend over to play with Miss E as my husband and son were taking in a Pheasants Forever banquet, Val and Sarah said they didn’t care if little girls were running around, they were coming to visit, all 85 miles one way for both of them.
I was touched. My house was not picked up or “guest ready”. It rarely is. There were at least seven laundry baskets of clothes needing to be put away in the master bedroom but the beds were made in every bedroom. Nathan and Hunter both vacuumed and dusted before their evening departure. (Yes I know how fortunate I am.)
Together Val, Sarah and I ate my favorite go-to recipe, Pioneer Woman’s Simple Perfect Enchiladas and visited, laughing until we cried while the girls tore every toy out from the cupboards I had quickly put away before Val and Sarah arrived.
We went from talking about the most efficient breast pump to talking animal welfare to North Dakota politics with out missing a beat. Seriously they both are women that talk about topics that I love dearly and not many women enjoy these topics like me. Long after the girls went to bed, we kept talking, laughing and then planning our next road trip get together.
Val and Sarah are passionate moms, wives and advocates for causes they deeply care about for their livelihoods.
I am grateful to have to formed lifelong friendships that all started from moms diving into social media and blogging on the North Dakota prairie and then Val and Sarah’s willingness to road trip to meet me…in real life.
Have you met any blogger friends in real life?
That’s great to meet ‘in person’! It is funny how this blogging world connects us all. Sarah and I met when we were in Chicago for the AgChat Conference and I follow her blog as well. I’ll have to look Val up now:) Great post! And glad you’re back:)
What a blessing it has been (and will continue to be) to have friends like you Katie and Val and all my other blogging pals! You all have been such an encouragement in so many ways! Katie, I’m honored that you posted about our visit- what fun! and what a great hostess you are! I’m really hoping Santa brings me the Pioneer Woman cookbook 🙂
Looking forward to our next girls night out, or in 🙂
I met both of those ladies AND Nancy in Chicago — and will see Val in the next couple of weeks! Of course I met you this summer at the Ag Media Summit, Jeff Ray & Troy all in Seattle and far more in Chicago — Will Gilmer, Warren Parker, Amanda Sollman, Ashley Messing, and more and more! Always fun to meet the tweeps and blogger friends in person!