Thin Mints, Tea and Friendship
Today I came home to a package from UPS. I love getting packages in the mail, especially surprises. Well, not the anthrax in a box type of surprise, but fun stuff. No, I didn’t get the musical vibrator that I wrote about.
I opened the package right away because…well, I’m not the mean, sarcastic wench that I come across as. I’m like a little kid when it comes to fun stuff.
Inside the box: a card, some verrrry good smelling candle tarts,a gorgeous tart burner, a box of tea, some lotion and a box of Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookies.
Whoa.
Stop right there. Must open the Thin Mints. I’m not a “cookie” chick but Thin Mints are soooo good.
I opened the card and the cookies at the same time. I’m talented like that.
Who sent me this incredible housewarming gift?
A neighbor who lives hundreds of miles away.
Her name is Dana and I met her on Twitter. It has to be at least a year ago when we started chatting. She is a phenomenal woman and I always thought she’d make a great neighbor.
We started “tweeting” before it was popular. There was a group back then that seemed to gather at night and tweet about “stuff”. It was social…like it’s supposed to be.
Twitter is bigger and less personal than it used to be now, but there are still those, like Dana, who light up my tweet stream in a positive way.
If you know me well…and who really does…I’m not really a “go to the mall with the girls and chit-chat” type of chick. I suppose it would come as a surprise that anyone who writes about musical vibrators or Ass Hats is also the same woman who is a bit guarded, a careful chooser-of-friends, and someone who loves home more than big social events.
However, there’s something that happens in the world of social media that connects you with people that might not live next door but sometimes it feels like they do. Dana is one of these people.
She knew I was moving and told me she was sending me a housewarming gift. To find Thin Mint cookies in the box told me immediately that I am right on thinking she’d be a great neighbor…even though we’ve never met in person.
Then there are the candle-tart thingies. I am a candle FREAK.
She knew that I love the candles she sells that you must try. Yes, I’m plugging her business and no she didn’t ask me to.
Right now I’m already burning one of the tarts in this oh-my-GOD-I-love this little plug in tart warmer she sent. Gorgeous. It’s also a night light which is perfect for me because I can’t see where I’m going most days, never mind at night.
Tea. She sent me tea. That’s what friends do. They have tea and spend time together. I’ve never had tea. Now I want to try it because she sent it. So, tomorrow night when the kidlets are all settled in, I’m having tea.
Dana is married and has three children. She lives in Pennsylvania. I have five children, I’ve been divorced for almost 10 years and I live in Rhode Island.
She’s a Girl Scout Troop Leader. I was a Girl Scout in Troop 1023 when I was a kid who wore glasses and knee socks.
She loves books. I love to write and I miss the fact that I can’t read as much because I’m always writing.
I guess this blog post is my way of saying, “thank you, Dana.” That might sound a bit impersonal but I think it’s important for people to know that social media, with all its occasional negatives, has been a big positive in my life.
It’s amazing how a little box full of friendship can make your day. For all the people who are out there on Twitter trying to sell tooth whitener or their amazing money making book and never take the time to get to know the people they are “following”….you’re missing out.
You might just meet a good friend and a virtual neighbor to kick back and have a cup of tea with. They may even be willing to share their Girl Scout cookies.
Thanks, Dana. You are so great. I’m so glad we “met.”
I'm not suprised she sent you cookies you're hilarious! And you gave her a free plug in to the bargain! Give her another plug she may send you some light fixtures, lol.
you could totally make thin mint chunk cookies or thin mint cupcakes and they are fabulous! i just posted them on my blog at cuppycakebakes.blogspot.com
thin mints=heaven
Man, I love thin mints. My husband ordered about 6 boxes of them, and I'm pretty sure they're going to be my undoing.
I really liked the line, "a little box full of friendship". I hope I have the opportunity to use such a statement sometime myself.
This is the first one of your blogs that brought tears to my eyes and didn't require incontinence pads. What a lovely "neighbor" is your friend Dana. Cheryl thanks for reminding us what" social" means and that the human touch can be felt over many miles.
What a lovely post, and a nice friend you have. I hope one day I might have the pleasure and honour of having tea with you, Cheryl.
Hey Cheryl,
I was one of those from way back when twitter was still "real". Now I mostly haunt facebook. This is what I have been saying to people for a long time, especially those in business. Real relationships CAN be created on social media. People meet their future spouses every day on the internet so why can't good friendships be created as well?
Thanks for sharing, Dana sounds like a great friend to have.
that's great! I miss seeing you on Twitter but I haven't been around so much lately. Therefore, I didn't know you were moving. Here's to the new house! XO!
Great post, wonderful comments.
I would also like to thank you for the kind interactions we have shared over the past year or more.
Because of you, and many of the friends who follow you, I have learned that there is a niche in the internet for just being a person, not just a business driven robot who spams everyone.
Keep up the good work, greatly appreciated and always warmly anticipated.
ME and the Boss
Makes the heart glow to hear about neighbors like that. The true neighbor kind that doesn't have to live next door or in the same zip code, or even in the same hemisphere in order to be neighborly. And you, dear girl, deserve the very best of neighbors – and cookies 'n tea! Yay Dana indeed; I join the chorus along with terrepruit singing the song of praise for such caring and neighborly friendships.
I rarely comment on blogs and such…but here and there when I have a minute I read them. This was worth the read…because who are we if we can’t share the smile that we have been given. Thank you both for sharing yours today.
Awesome. I think some people might think this kind of thank you is impersonal, but I think of it as shouting from the rooftops. I really sometimes have to do that. Something I think is great and I feel needs to be shouted from the rooftops just needs to get out there. Whenever a friends does something wonderful and special it is awesome to shout about it. Yay you! Yay Dana. Yay online across the miles friendships!
Cheryl, You were one of the first people to "talk" to me when I first started tweeting those two-ish years ago. I loved your sense of humor…still do. With all of our many conversations I came to realize that even though we were quite different, we had a lot in common, and a lot of the same values. When I needed it, you helped and supported me 100% without asking anything in return… appreciated more than you know! I am glad to have met you too, and am honored to call you my friend. Enjoy your tea and cookies in your new home! Now go get that last box unpacked
I'm found myself wondering why I found this the least bit interesting. Then I figured that it was for the same reason that I like the movies that I enjoy. I liked Crazy Heart and the Blind Side, but wasn't too interested in the Hurt Locker and kept checking email, Facebook, Twitter, and hits on my web pages during the movie. I had to force myself to leave Avatar turned on. I really liked Personal Effects with Michelle Pfeiffer and have watched it three times. Two of my other favorites are a River Runs Through It and the Big Easy. While the movies I like are usually fictional, they are not phony, and portray people triumphing over difficulty sometimes in some very small ways.
Enjoy your Tea and your cookies.
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What a thoughtful friend you have! It's great when people do things to surprise you, things not expected, but just because they are nice things to do. Makes me feel "mesmerized" when someone is extra nice to me lol. Hide the cookies or they won't last long, or….be kind and share them with the kids.
I'm lucky to have made some great friendships online. They've gotten me through three surgeries, some crappy times, happy times and in between.
As far as the cookies….kids don't like that kind. How lucky can a girl get?