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Health & Fitness

My Panacea -- The Internet

Sometimes you have to look online for, well, pretty much anything. That includes friends.

When I first learned I was pregnant with twins, I was SHOCKED.  It was unplanned and really not something I had considered.  OK, my husband and I joked about when he informed me he had to miss the first ultrasound (I was 6 weeks pregnant) because he got called into a meeting.  You see, the one ultrasound he missed in my first pregnancy, we learned we were expecting a boy.  So we were joking about what we would learn this time.  But that was a joke -- we REALLY were unprepared for this news.

But the news was delivered none-the-less.  And I had the picture to prove it.  And once I had a week or so to get the idea through my head, I had to figure out how I was going to manage.  In August (or September) 2006, I went searching for an online community that could help me with this whole thing....how does one parent twins and how does one parent twins with a 22 month old in tow (as it turned out, he was 21 months when they were born).  And I met SEVERAL MoMs (Moms of Multiples), either present or expecting, and we went through it together.  That particular community has really ceased in being, but us MoMs found each other on Facebook and our relationship has continued.

Whenever I have questions, this is where I go.  How long is it wise to keep them in the same crib?  How do you get them on the same schedule?  Do you potty train together?  Should they be in the same class (or near each other) when they start school?  These and so many other questions I saw asked and answered by this community.

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I did this again, once I learned my twins were Autistic.  I looked to Facebook pages and Circle of Moms communities.  I looked online to find support groups.  I even created a page on Facebook to help bring people together.

You see, you are never alone with anything you are facing in life.  There is always someone else who is experiencing the same problems.....the same questions......the same feelings.  These people may not be living next door to you, or even in your community.  But they are out there.  And the Internet brings them together.  People who are looking for the SAME answers.....solving the SAME problems.....sorting out the SAME feelings.

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One of the best parts about finding these "friends" on the internet is that you always get to maintain a sense of anonymity.  You can always make arrangments to meet these people, but most often, that doesn't happen.  Most often, you come to count on the friendships of these friends whom you never see face-to-face, yet you feel you can share everything.

So, yes, I spend a lot of my time online.  I spend that time looking for answers and helping people look for those answers.  I ask more questions than I answer and have come to know so many of these people who come to my page.

The internet, in a sense, is my friend.  And I don't know how I could have had all of the support I have experienced without it.

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