Gregarious Animal

Nearly everyone who was there has already written about it.

No one was in pajamas. The liberals did not beat down the conservatives, nor vice versa. The lasagne could have used a touch more garlic--but maybe then everyone would have had to leave earlier.

I've started to notice that when bloggers get together it's a special kind of gathering, and I think I've figured out why. Most bloggers are introverted creatures. Even the more gregarious--Aunt B. for instance--are introverted creatures on a very fundamental level. So when we all get together there's a surprising lack of artifice. Of course I could be wrong and everyone could have been wearing a mask, but I don't think so.

I've been in a lot of social settings where people seem to feel forced to feign an outward personality to cope with the interactions. That doesn't seem to happen with a room full of bloggers. And over the past year, even though we are technically "bloggers" I think we've all started to become friends. Some of that may have to do with the fact that other bloggers are the ones who have actually shown interest in the parts of our lives we squirrell away on our internet journals. I think more than that is the fact that these are very earnestly nice people who love connecting with others who exist completely outside our other social spheres. None of us go to church together, work together or have kids on the same sports teams. We are friendly with one another simply because we like the people involved. And that makes a huge difference.

I'm very touched that so many people were willing to drive so far out of their way to come to my home, and I had a wonderful time. Those of you who weren't there were genuinely missed.