The Unexpected Gift of Blogging: My Two Year Anniversary

If you are a blogger,

what did you expect to get out of it when you started?

Fame?

I never thought I'd get even a handful of readers.

Fortune?
One could hope, but so far, 
I've made enough for a cup of coffee at Starbucks Dunkin' Donuts.

Feedback?
Who would care enough about what I had to say, let alone comment on it? 

Free Stuff?

I didn't even know this was a perk back when I started blogging.

 Fulfillment?

That's about the only thing I did expect...I could harness all of my creative energy,

and combine all of my passions under one cyber roof,

which would be quite satisfying, even if no one read my stuff.

Friendship?

HUH?
I thought I'd be sitting here at home, anonymously writing away 
in my own itsy-bitsy piece of the blogosphere.
Getting to know other bloggers never entered my mind. 

Wanna be friends?

   
Two years into this, and I've come to realize a Totally. Unexpected. Gift.

Friendship. 

Yup, I've made friends. Real ones. True ones.

My in-the-flesh friends can't get over it 
when I tell them that in the two years I've been blogging, 

I've made friends all over the world. 

 And, yes, I think of them...YOU..as friends in the truest sense of the word.

I rejoice when you're happy...
I worry when you're going through tough times...
I try to help you if you have a problem...
I feel motivated when you inspire me...
I celebrate when you're successful...
I LMAO when you are funny.

I've never met a single blogging friend (YET!), 
but I know that if I wrote and said "I'm going to be in your neck of the woods,"

we'd do our best to arrange a rendezvous.

So what sparked this burst of mushy sentiment?

It was a card that came in the mail a few weeks ago,
 from a blogging friend in Tennessee,

Dewena, from Dewena's Window.

She saw it in Trader Joe's and thought of me. 

And bought it.

And mailed it.

And made my day.

 That gesture got me to thinking about this most unexpected gift of blogging.

I can be in a market, and see a bottle of vinegar, 
and think about a blogger from that region of Spain.

I can hear tragic news about France, or Israel, 
but it seems much more personal because I know bloggers who live there.

 I can get a dozen emails asking if we're ok, 
because they heard of the horrible snow storms in NJ.

I can be in my synagogue, when the son of a blogger-friend in Canada 
comes to mind during the community prayer for healing.

I'd like to mention all of you by name, but that's the point...
I've made so many bloggy friendships,
I couldn't possibly list everyone!

It's good to hang around with your friends.

Just know that whether you are from...

 Down south, down under, or upstate NY;
 the midwest or southeast;
Germany or Greece; 
somewhere in Russia or somewhere I've never heard of;
 Israel or Italy;
the Heartland or Poland;
Canada or California;
Oklahoma or Oakland;
a rural town or a major city; 
England or New England;
Amsterdam, or the damn place I can never remember;
Vegas or Vienna; 
New Zealand...or right here in New Jersey...
you mean the WORLD to me. 

By my third blogging anniversary,
I'd love to have a friend from each of the 50 states,

and as many countries from around the world as possible.
I'm gonna work on that!

Thanks, Dewena, not only for the thoughtful card,

but for making me think about my bloggy blessings.

I may not have gotten famous from blogging (yet),
and I surely haven't gotten rich (yet).
And, come to think of it, I haven't gotten any free stuff, either (yet)...
But, I do have the gift of your friendships...
making it a very Happy Two-Year Blogiversary!

Linking With: 
Home Sweet Home
Feathered Nest Friday 
A Bouquet of Talent  
Treasure Box Tuesday
The Scoop 
Lou Lou Girls Fabulous Party  
Tweak it Tuesday
Home and Garden Thursday