Community

Community comes in all shapes and sizes. Usually, I feel community most where I live or with people I've met in real life; although, I admit that I have one or two "second generation" friends (friends I've never met face-to-face, but are good friends of face-to-face friends and we've built our friendship over the internet).

Right now, though, I'm in the midst of an interesting international experience of community. For the past year and a half, I have regularly participated in the conversations of a bulletin board with a group of people who share some common interests, and even met three of them in real life. This is a group of caring, intelligent people who have a wide interest in the world around them and each other. We've gotten to know each other through our conversations, controversies, and the varying life experiences shared on the boards.

One of the members is currently anticipating the birth of her first child. We've followed the pregnancy over the past months and are now awaiting the imminent arrival of the youngster. The youngster is two weeks overdue and, while not in immediate difficulty, is at the edges of potential distress. Mom and Dad have decided to go ahead and let the doctor induce birth, entering the hospital yesterday.

As we all wait on pins and needles, our international community has been posting in the appropriate thread just like a group of close friends waiting at the hospital for someone to pop their head out the door and announce the arrival. Some have offered various snack foods, to head over to the local take-out and bring something back, shared how uncomfortable the waiting room chairs are, even heading into that punch-drunk waiting room silliness which occurs after 24 hours of waiting.

In the midst of all of this, I get the sense of actually being a part of the process, just like I was there in the Netherlands waiting with grandparents and friends. It's something like this which brings home to me that my world has gotten both smaller and larger at the same time. Smaller in the sense that even someone across an ocean is a part of my life and larger in the sense that my world now spans around the globe instead of, mostly, within the span of a few hundred miles at most.

Excuse me. Is anyone going to eat that piece of cold pizza? I think maybe it's time for a walk up and down the halls, 'cuz these chairs have given me a horrible crick in my neck. Come and get me if anything happens! Come on, little one! We're looking forward to meeting you!