Loss across the lines

A very dear friend of mine lost his father this weekend. It was very sudden and unexpected which makes it all the more difficult. I am not there to be with him during this time of great sorrow but my heart and thoughts go out to him and his family. Sadly, it is when something like this happens that we usually find ourselves reflecting....

As I type this I'm still contemplating the meaning of friendship, family and love. "Real life" friends, what exactly are they? Well, I suppose it means they are friends we can see and touch everyday if we wanted to; but are the friendships we make online less valuable, do they mean less because we can't see them or touch them? I don't think so but there are some who do. I have several online friends and like real life friends the bond between them varies. The way I love and care for them doesn't change because they don't live in Chicago though, they aren't less in my heart. I've met some of my online friends and others I have not but meeting them isn't what made them "real life" to me, because they were already that. If they weren't then all I'd have is "fake life" friends right? What is sad is that I've made online friendships that I thought were as real as it gets and they weren't. The feelings inside me were...but I digress, we live and learn.

My friend, the one I'm speaking of, I've never met in real life. That fact doesn't change how much I care about him or how deep his pain my heart is feeling for his loss.