I don’t often post guest posts… but something about this one from my friend Ali I really liked.  Maybe its that it captures the reality of our digital world, and how the people we message back and forth are more than just an icon on the screen…

or maybe its cause I sometimes dribble too…

Either way… read it and see!

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Some people say the friends I talk to on Facebook who I’ve never met in real life aren’t “real friends.” I can see how they might feel that way but honestly, as a writer we tend to share the most intimate parts of ourselves online. The people I find I am closest to are the people whose stories I know and who know mine, and with writers this is always the case. We know each other’s stories and that creates closeness.

One day my online friend Darla posted about her struggles with incontinence and her wet baseball pants. We have been in writing groups together for about two years and I’ve always been in awe of her ability to generate so much high quality content and for her earnestness. She is just so endearing and clever and magical with words. But today my friend had a problem. She was leaking and just the week before I had been over at an event for Poise Impressa with UrbanMommies publisher, Jill Amery and more of my online friends learning about this very topic.

A group of professionals talked to us about a range of options available to women struggling with stress urinary incontinence, the kind of problem my friend has, which many women have after babies. It’s an odd kind of problem in that it’s discussed only in hushed tones but also accepted to be normal with no solution. It’s the worst kept secret and it really shouldn’t need to be. It’s really common. With our panel of experts, 2e discussed surgical interventions, pelvic floor physiotherapy and the Poise Impressa, which is a support that literally lifts the areas that don’t have support anymore to stop leaks. You can wear it for up to 8 hours, and it’s not to absorb moisture but to prevent it by temporarily alleviating structural deficits.

Armed with this information, I awkwardly messaged my friend. I told her about the product and since I had samples on hand from the party, offered to drive them over to her house since we were headed that way anyways. I’m ashamed to admit we have corresponded for that long, only living about 40 minutes apart, and hadn’t officially met yet. This was going to change!

Thankfully, she accepted my offer and was really chill about it and thankful. I dropped off her care package and we hugged and took selfies on the porch. She gives the very best hugs. You know when you meet someone and it’s like your souls recognize each other? It was exactly that and my heart was so happy that (Poise and) I could offer her some “support” in her time of need.

She might be in my phone and not at my kitchen table, but we are friends, true friends. Friends help friends #LiveWithoutLeaks and we talk about the stuff that really matters in our lives – like wet baseball pants. We know each other’s stories and love to help each other but in true blogger form, first – we should take a selfie!