Maddy: What are you getting ready for?

Me: I'm going out to eat with some friends tonight.

Maddy: Who? (A little too skeptically. Hey, M, I have friends!)

Me: Ummm. Andrea. And Liz. And Brittany.

Maddy: Have I ever met them?

Me: Well, no. Technically I haven't either. We met by reading each others' blogs. We found out Andrea is visiting here and the rest of us live around New England.

Maddy: (after a beat) I thought we weren't supposed to arrange to see people we meet online. And not give out our information. Are you sure this is safe? (Maddy girl's got my back.)

Me: That's true, you definitely shouldn't. But these are really more like penpals. We know each other pretty well. {or, I'm thinking to myself, at least kind of well. Or barely.}

Maddy: (looks doubtful) Okay. When will you be home?

We had a great evening together, the four of us. Amazing how you can sit down and already know so much about the lives of people you've never met. And how quickly you start talking, laughing, sharing, and getting real. I loved every minute of it. Liz even made laminated cards commemorating the First Annual New England Blog Party (get your reservations in early for next year!)

So here's another counterbalance to last week's blog crisis. This land of blog can be also be affirming, connecting, uplifting, and sometimes a lifeline. I've reconnected with longlost friends. Distant (on the family tree) family members have become good friends (hi Jenny). And I've made new blog friends (you know who you are...if you're reading this, I mean you) and penpal friends (hi Jessica and Lindsay in England--we got your envelope today!).

Do you know the Emily Dickinson poem that goes "this is my letter to the world/that never answered back"? Well, this is mine.

I think Emily would totally be a blogger, by the way.