friends and falls

We traveled 1100 miles last week to camp in the Saura Mountains of North Carolina with my online friends. Some I'd met in person before and some I hadn't, but we are old friends just the same. Many of them I've known for ten years now. Communing with friends, standing at the tops of mountain cliffs (we called it "church"), and hiking through the beautiful, dense forests of rhododendron and mountain laurel was one of those life-affirming experiences one must have every now and then. L did not understand my connection with these people. He stayed very distant and aloof to some of the warmest people I've ever met in my life. I told him that I think you get out of any relationship what you put into it. I have put a lot of myself into words with these people, and they have showered me with love, friendship, support, and complete acceptance of me just as I am. We call each other family.