the best friend I've never met

This is a page I've been planning to do for a while, was just waiting for the right papers to inspire me. The July Scrapperie kit was perfect! It's about a very dear online friend of mine, and how our friendship has grown through our email pen-palling for the past couple of years. We are making plans to finally meet in person this October and I just can't wait!

Journaling:
It started out over two years ago as one of several casual acquaintances on an online scrapbooking forum where we were both regulars. One day we started to exchange email, mostly about submitting layouts for publication, as we were both just starting to venture down that road. Through our first few messages, we learned that we had a great deal in common. We are both originally Midwest girls, born and raised in Ohio, although you have settled into the Pacific Northwest while I am now firmly entrenched in the Pittsburgh area. We are both married to Marks. We both have one brother – named Scott! And of course, we are both passionate about our common hobby.

Our friendship has grown into something very special through our at-least-weekly exchange of “d-mails” and “j-mails” - our own lingo for the emails that have allowed us to share in each others lives, both the exciting and the mundane, the happy and the sad, the ups and the downs. I am anxious for our plans to finally meet, face-to-face, this fall when you return to your hometown for a visit. But until then, my dear friend Joodie, you will continue to be the best friend I’ve never met.