1999... seems SO long ago. I had left my abusive ex husband the year before, gotten divorced, was taking care of 2 small children as a single mom. In May of 1999 I met my now husband Nick. It was a year of change. A crazy time where things seemed so unstable but there was so much excitement of things to come. I was also introduced to the wonderful world of message boards.
Over the years my life has changed so much. I changed jobs, got married, bought a house, and had my 3 little girls, and started my new existence as a stay at home mom. I went through a really rough time with my father being an alcoholic and homeless and seen the transformation of him getting sober. One thing that remained the same was the boards. Regardless of what was going on I knew at anytime I could head over for a laugh if I needed cheering up, catch up on the news of the world if I need to be grounded, or get in a knock down board fight if I needed to let off some steam.
I've met so many people since then. Some were people that were fun to hate, some were friends for a short period of time and some of them... well some of them will be a part of life forever. I've met and lost many friends since coming to the boards but I've also met my family. The people I know will always be there for me. Our message boards are closing down on Friday. I'm sure I'll sit down for months and try to read them. It's a part of my daily routine. Reading the boards has been the perfect companion to my morning coffee for years. Through the years I've shared in the joy of new babies to the sadness of the loss of children.
With our boards closing many of them are migrating to other places. It will be hard to keep up with all of them. I know I'll keep in contact with the many friends I've met over the years but things will be different. The boards were like Mom's kitchen where the whole family would gather for special occasions or just when we needed to feel connected and loved. WorldCrossing closing down is breaking up a family. The whole thing feels like a nasty divorce.
To all of my board friends... thank you for sharing my life with me. Thank you for allowing me to grow up with you all cheering me on.
Time for the next Chapter....
