Aunt Linda Meets Her ZFT Friends IRL

OK, this will be my last post about my trip to Philly, I promise.

The trip I described in my previous posts was to attend a wedding of a couple who had met each other at an online forum that I've been chatting on for over a year. Nine people from this forum were able to go to Philadelphia for this wedding from all around the country.

It was interesting to me to think how they were the same or different from the mental picture I had built in my head. Here's a little description of each of them, all twenty-somethings. First the girls:

1. The bride--I'm sorry I didn't get very much opportunity to talk to the beautiful bride. But of course, she had bigger fish to fry. She did express her pleasure that I had been able to attend her wedding.

2. The bridesmaid--Also beautiful, she was both laughing and crying. She spent the last night in my hotel room since she had an early flight out the next morning. I wish we'd had more chance to talk.

3. The girlfriend--pretty and friendly. She was my roommate and we had a nice couple discussions together. I even talked to her mom on the phone a little too.

Next, the boys:

1. The groom--he came to our room the morning of his wedding and we had a nice little visit. I noticed he was left-handed. He seemed a little younger than I was expecting, but every bit as pleasant and intelligent as I had expected.

2. The best man--He was pretty funny! I liked him better IRL than online. He promised his current and future tatoos would all fit perfectly under "professional business attire."

3. Groomsman #1--a man of substance, and possessing above average social and communication skills. It was a pleasure to hold an intelligent conversation with him.

4. Groomsman #2--a man of many words, but words are needed to make people feel included, which he did for me. Nor was he offended when I asked him to stop talking so I could say something. I liked him.

There was one other ZFT guy there, but I already knew him IRL. I have to be careful what I say about him because he knows where I live :-) So maybe I'll just stop there.

I greeted each of my young friends with a hug, and I could tell by the way they hugged back (or not) whether they were from the north or the south. They all seemed kind, polite, and accepting of me inspite of the fact that I am "your mother."

It was a lot of fun for me to go to this wedding, which was possible since I had enough frequent flyer miles for my flight. No ax murderers, not a one. I wish others from the forum could also have been there.