You may have seen the ’BBC Like That’ video that went a bit viral recently. The one about the mum friends, who had met online, meeting in person for the first time. The one that I thought would only get about 300 views so I didn’t bother to brush my hair, and then I turned up to film the first meet in London horrendously overtired. Okay, hungover.
You may have seen that I was gifted with a brand new washing machine by my internet friends, but you may well not know the backstory and just why I received a brand new appliance, and just what it
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meant.
Without airing too much dirty laundry (and believe me, there was plenty of that), I was going through a rather difficult time. One of my many stresses was that my old faithful washing machine had taken its last spin and departed to the big scrapyard in the sky. Financially, this strapped-for-cash single mama couldn’t justify buying a new one yet. I had been using my mum’s machine, carrying large bags of laundry back and forth from my house to hers, for months. Inconvenient was an understatement. #firstworldproblems
My online friends knew
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about this palaver because I happened to mention it, and how I was generally failing at life, in a rant of mammoth proportion on our secret Facebook group.
My online friends also know that I have a diagnosis of BPD, and suffer with severe episodes of depression and anxiety. This dark spell was particularly gloomy. Moments after venting my woes in the aforementioned mammoth rant, I received streams of much-needed, non-judgemental words of encouragement and support from my wonderful online friends. Although, that came as no surprise considering the
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nature of our group. I knew that I could rely on them to pick me up when I’m down. What did come as a surprise though was what happened next.
When the brand new washing machine unexpectedly arrived, I was overwhelmed. Not only by the generosity of the gesture, and the sense of relief that one of my many worries had been lifted, but at the evidence that I am thought about, listened to and cared for by so very many people. So very many more than my darkened mindset would have allowed me to believe. And that, just at the point where I felt so
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desperately isolated and hopeless, was precisely what I needed.
You may have seen the ‘BBC Like That‘ video that went a bit viral recently. The one about the mum friends, who had met online, meeting in person for the first time. The one that I thought would only get about 300 views so I didn’t bother to brush my hair, and then I turned up to film the first meet in London horrendously overtired. Okay, hungover.
You may have seen that I was gifted with a brand new washing machine by my internet friends, but you may well not know the backstory and just why I received a brand new appliance, and just what it meant.
Without airing too much dirty laundry (and believe me, there was plenty of that), I was going through a rather difficult time. One of my many stresses was that my old faithful washing machine had taken its last spin and departed to the big scrapyard in the sky. Financially, this strapped-for-cash single mama couldn’t justify buying a new one yet. I had been using my mum’s machine, carrying large bags of laundry back and forth from my house to hers, for months. Inconvenient was an understatement. #firstworldproblems
My online friends knew about this palaver because I happened to mention it, and how I was generally failing at life, in a rant of mammoth proportion on our secret Facebook group.
My online friends also know that I have a diagnosis of BPD, and suffer with severe episodes of depression and anxiety. This dark spell was particularly gloomy. Moments after venting my woes in the aforementioned mammoth rant, I received streams of much-needed, non-judgemental words of encouragement and support from my wonderful online friends. Although, that came as no surprise considering the nature of our group. I knew that I could rely on them to pick me up when I’m down. What did come as a surprise though was what happened next.
When the brand new washing machine unexpectedly arrived, I was overwhelmed. Not only by the generosity of the gesture, and the sense of relief that one of my many worries had been lifted, but at the evidence that I am thought about, listened to and cared for by so very many people. So very many more than my darkened mindset would have allowed me to believe. And that, just at the point where I felt so desperately isolated and hopeless, was precisely what I needed.
Who said internet friends weren’t real friends?
Gina and Jem meet for the first time.
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