Thank you Lala for this...

http://douweosinga.com/projects/visitedstates

I thought this was neat, saw it on my friend's site so I thought that I would try it. There is one for different countries too, but the only other country I have been to is Mexico.

This got me to thinking about where my "friends" are. I have no IRL friends close to me, all are spread all out. My closest friend to me is on the other side of the same island that we live on and I had to MAIL her a package because I can't even get over there to see her. I had many friends growing up that wanted to travel the world and see different places. I guess I am strange, I have no desire to travel at all, not even to go home to Kaua'i. Don't get me wrong, I miss our family and friends on Kaua'i, but I loathe flying even more. We have a credit card that you get miles for purchases used and paid for...we have enough points to go somewhere, for all 5 of us, but neither Gary or I really have a desire to go anywhere.

I love meeting people from different places, I have met some wonderful ladies all over the world.

I would like to introduce some of my friends...

One of my closest online friends lives in Australia and I would love to go meet her, just so that I could meet her family and experience some of her life, but I really have no desire to fly anywhere.... they need to invent a true "beam me up Scottie" and then this would be a great thing.

I also have a wonderful "nana" that lives in Alaska that I would love to meet in person. She has lived here in Hawaii and would one day love to return, and I have the perfect rocking chair for her... but I am really selfish and wouldn't want her to leave. She has a great big family that needs her far more than I do, and they would be lost without her.

One of my "home" friends lives clear on the other side of the world now too, she married and moved to Italy. I don't feel that far from her though as I can get a glimpse of her life from her blog. She has been "home" for a couple of months and will be returning to Italy soon. I would love to see her before she leaves again, but I am not sure if that will be possible.

I have to say though...the hardest three are the next ones that I want to introduce you all too....

When we first moved to Hawaii, I met a girl at school that didn't care that I was "haole" or that she would have problems because she was friends with me. We went all through highschool together (although there was a summer and a couple months during our junior year? that were tense) we made it through that. We have been through the death of her mother, who was a great role model to me and a loving shoulder to cry on when I had no mother to turn to. The birth of her first son at a young age, the meeting of her DH and the birth of her second son, who was very premature. This is where things got really hard for us both... she moved with her new family to the other side of the US, and I was so hurt that I let it almost destroy our friendship. I lost almost 2 years with her. Thank God, we were able to work things out, I needed friends at a certain point in my life, and she was with out other friend, all she heard was that I needed help and all the problems that we had, just disappeared, she was there for me. We are once again separated by many miles, they returned to Hawaii for a couple of years but are now back in the mainland on the East Coast, but we talk via Instant Messengers, Email and Phone whenever we are able to. I actually get to spend some time this week with her oldest son for a couple of hours on Wednesday.. he is flying to the mainland to spend the summer with her and needs an "auntie" to help him get his connecting flight from interisland to international. His birthday was yesterday also, he is now.... 11, I remember the day he was born, so I think I have a special connection with him in a way also. I hope that he has a great summer and will one day be back living with his mom, who is a wonderful mother and one of my bestestestestest, lol, friends in the WHOLE WORLD.

My sister by heart, lives in Wyoming. I met her a little less than 5 years ago, we were pregnant at the same time and met on an online expecting club. Our sons are 10 days apart, although I was actually due a couple of days before her. We began talking online, then it progressed to webcam conversations, then to the phone. When I needed somebody to help with my surgery last year.... I called her HYSTERICAL... All I remember telling her was, "I need you!" She hung up ON me, called her DH at work and said, "I need to go to HAWAII, NOW!!!" Her DH filled out the necessary paperwork and HAND-CARRIED it to his supervisor, he needed to take time off to watch their kids so that she could come. He didn't even ask any questions. Just a few days later, I was standing in the Honolulu Airport waiting to pick-up my "sister & nephew" who I had NEVER MET! To make that kind of friend is not something that I ever thought would happen to me! She has been there for me for almost everything that has happened in the past several years. We have 3 cordless phones and MOST days, by the end of the day, all 3 phones batteries are dead for all the time that we spend on the phone. We made jokes that our oldest kids would marry, but we decided the other day, that that might NOT be a great idea... two HIGH strung kids would most likely have ever HIGHER strung kids.... EEEKKKKK!!!! We even have a pact... When I die... she is to kill off her DH and marry Gary so that she can raise my kids with him. I know that is really morbid, but when you are really sick and depressed, these really WEIRD thoughts come to you. She loves Gary as a brother, so I know that would never EVER happen, but it's nice to have that fantasy, that my family would be okay without me.

The last online sister that I have made... actually it is a two for one deal. This is a sister dual team, that I have adopted as my own family. They live in New Jersey and have been through the ringer. I now have an older sister and a younger sister through them, and am about to become an "auntie". My older sister S is adopting ( God Willing ) a wonderful baby girl. They will foster her for a time until things can be legalized, and then her and her wonderful man will have a daughter. S is most likely unable to have children of her own, but she was meant to be a mama. She has two Godsons, that she adores and would give her own life for. She has been my sounding block in good times and bad. She has been my shopping buddy for all those late night Ebay shopping excursions. We both love to read and we have started a new tradition of sorts... I got both her a D silver bracelets that have saying on them, for Christmas two years ago... not its a treat to be able to find new ones that can be added to this collection. When I find one, I always buy three and that way we all have the same ones. I think of them and they think of me when we wear them. I did, however, get D one of her own that neither S or I have for her Bday this year. It is hers, a special one from her sister in Hawaii.

I could go on and on with all the wonderful ladies that I have met online. Many of these would never have been possible for one very special lady. Night Spirit is a wonderful Indian lady that is the owner of the cancer support board that I am on with many of the ladies and men that I have met in the last 2.5 years. She herself is very ill right now and hasn't even been online much at all. I was cleaning up my office today and found the shells that I have to send to her, she makes jewelry and requested some shells from Hawaii. I will get them in the mail tomorrow and then give her a call to let her know that they are on their way, as I haven't even seen her computer on at all for weeks now.

And to think.... this whole post was because I was reading Lala's blog and she had that interactive map thingy that I posted at the top of her. And all those wonderful GCM mama's that I have met, they are all over the world. I have made friends all thoughout the US, Australia, New Zealand, Korea, Canada, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Germany, England, Scotland, I know there are some from South America, but don't they are there at the moment, Virgin Islands, Japan, I think we have one in Israel. I am sure that I am missing many, but this is the main countries that I can think of at the moment. And the biggest thing is.... we met ONLINE. I know that many of ladies would lay their own lives aside and be there for friends that they have made online. There is a bond there that I think in many instances is even stronger than that of IRL friends. You can bare your soul to somebody that isn't close to you physically in location. Once you become close that way... then if the opportunity ever presents itself, you have that bond there and your new friendship can only grow stronger when you meet face to face.

I'm not sure that there is really a point to this long post, other than I wanted to say ...