More than anything I want to say “thank you” to all the bloggers who came to the dinner. There were a lot for whom the dinner was the first time they had crossed the line between cyber and real. And that is hard. It takes guts to be able to walk into a room of people that you don’t know and stand there and introduce yourself and hug and greet people that you know so well - but don’t know at all. I had a great time and great conversations that have helped to give a 3D personality to a relationship that is all about support.
And it was a bit of an eye opener to sit back and reflect that it has been almost a year since I first met Mary and Cath when we did the Diabetes Walk for a Cure. I still remember the feelings of wanting to text and dip out, even though I organised it!! And I was only meeting 2 people. I had a great time during the meal and managed to get to meet and talk to everyone there. Some more than others but you get that in a big crowd.
Cass, Stella, Nicole, Kathryn and I sat at one table and it is incredible that you can learn so much about people in such a short space of time. I had a delicious meal (though found out later that not everyone had the same result) of pasta, neapolitana sauce with ricotta. Yummmmo. But dinner was not all about sitting in one spot. We all table hopped and chatted and it is really funny that the only 2 people I really didn’t have a chance to talk to much was Mary and Cath. But as we catch up the most I think I can survive and will have to hold on until Sunday when we meet up again for the Hula Hooping Lesson. What fun that will be!!
The guys at the other table: - Bron, Jodie, Linda, Sarah, Michelle, Mary and Cath I had already met, but Briony, Tamara, Melissa, and Marion (Cath’s Mum) were new to me and lovely to meet. I had spoken with almost all by email previously so it was great to jump in and talk to them for real.
After dinner some of us headed to the Fortune of War for a few more drinks (as if I needed any more by that stage LOL) and I had to admit after a little while my yawning was embarrassing even me so I made a move home. Sitting with Linda at the dining table going over the plan for the next morning was a good chance to enjoy the silence (boy am I getting old) and get my mind around the fact that I would be walking almost 15kms in less than 10 hours time. Goodnight!
(The lovely ladies in the photo are: L-R Kathryn, Linda, Briony, Sarah, Nicole, Cass, Michelle, Me (right at the back), Melissa, Stella, Bron, Cath, Marion, Tamara, Mary)
Original post by M