(Virtual) strangers have the best candy

And man, am I on a sugar overload!

You guys are fantastic! I'm overwhelmed by the comments you've made on my roll call post - I'll snack on them forever! Fortunately, this candy has no calories or carbs, so I'm good.

In the year and a bit that I've been a member of a virtual community, I've been gobsmacked by how emotionally invested I can become in complete strangers, people who, for the most part, I'll likely never meet in the world we call real life. I may exchange my deepest fears with you on a message board, but I'd never know you if we crossed paths at the airport, on the subway, in the grocery store.

From time to time, worlds do collide. I'll hear 'excuse me' in the St Jacob's market, and will meet face to face with a WB gal over fudge. Hubs will shake his head at this meeting of the brides and will marvel that someone could recognize me from photos a few inches square on a computer screen hundreds of kilometres away. And I can't disagree with him.

Recently, there's been a surge in research projects looking at the value of online communities. One such project found that cancer patients who belonged to online communities with other people who have or were going through the same thing reported feeling better, more positive about their prognosis, and more in control of their situation than the control group.

As I sat in the room watching the presentation, I immediately identified with this phenomenon. No, I don't have cancer thank goodness, but as a member of even a virtual wedding planning world (about as far away from cancer, frankly, as you could possibly get), I could quickly and easily relate to the sense of connection amongst total strangers that the researcher in front of me was describing.

My wedding took place over 9 months ago. And yet I can't shake the boards, can't leave my gals, can't stay away. And I think that really says something about the caliber of the people who populate this strange and mystical virtual world. Who would have thought that I'd come to rely on so many unknown individuals in my every day life. Sometimes, things aren't real in my life until I've done three things: told Hubs, my sister/close friends, and posted it (all too often accompanied by a photo or seven) on WB.

So to those of you that came on yesterday and typed so many kind words my way, I'd love to now repay the favour and thank you, my lovely reader, for the part you play in my life. We may never have met, or we've consumed more than our fair share of alcohol together. You may have read about the flowers that populated my bouquet on my wedding day, or you were there in person, face into the wind, to watch them accompany me on my journey towards becoming a wife.

Whether we've clinked our glasses in a toast to each other's happiness, or from just reading each others words we feel like we have, I thank you for your part in making my life just that much richer in friendship. It's nice to know there's one bank account that will never go into overdraft. Phew...I had to have at least one.

Kisses!

And that's your daily dash. How's your diva doin'?