INTERNET Day 17!

Sounds silly I know... but today I am thankful for the Internet.

I am sure that being thankful for the Internet seems silly to a lot of people. Maybe even frivolous. But for me it is a large part of my life and staying connected to people that I love and care about. It has also been a way for me to meet new people and make new friends. Let me give a few examples.

I have had several jobs in my lifetime, and lived in several different places, including Europe (Italy to be exact). Because of job changes and moving to the USA were it not for the Internet I would not be able to keep in close contact with some people who I consider to be my dearest and nearest friends. Also, we have family in Italy and through facebook and blogging it is a way for us to keep in touch and see what each other is doing.

Also, with Robert being on a mission it has been a way to meet the mothers of other missionaries and to build friendships with them. What a great source of strength it is for me to be able to "talk" with a mother who lives in another city/state about our sons and compare notes and stories, and to share a few tears together.

And thanks to facebook I have also had the chance to "meet" people that know our son Robert through his missionary service. They send me pictures and emails and messages just to let me know how wonderful our son is, or to let us know that he is fine, says hello to us, or whatever. It is a source of great comfort just knowing they are there. No, I don't check up on him, and I let him do his own thing, but...still, it is neat when someone tells me that Robert was just at their home for dinner and that he is such a nice boy. It warms my heart.

I am also to use the Internet with my work to keep in touch with other coworkers. Since we all work from home we don't have the chance to meet one another very often. But I feel like I have made a few good friends.

The Internet has also been a font of knowledge for school assignments, church talks, etc. There is so much information out there to discover. Of course, all things in moderation. But I am thankful to know that Google is there when I have a question. Ha Ha!