Posted by Helen on: 11.14.2007 /
I recently ‘met’ Lainie Petersen online by following a link to her article To Ten Ways to Fail at Being Missional . Then she posted about helping John Smulo get to Off The Map Live.
In reading about Lainie on her blog I realized she lives in Chicago! It’s a fun surprise when I run across a blogger who actually lives near me. Lainie and I made plans to have lunch together. It turned out we both had time yesterday.
Without exception my experiences meeting people in person that I’ve enjoyed online have been good, so I wasn’t nervous, even though I hardly knew anything about Lainie.
I think this is the first time I’ve got together in person with someone I’ve had so little interaction with online. I wasn’t nervous though, because Lainie has been very friendly. As I anticipated I very much enjoyed being with Lainie and getting to know her a little.
Lainie is smart and thoughtful. She’s had an interesting life. She entered seminary as a Christian but left fed up with all the Christians there and tried neo-paganism for a while. I asked her if she was ever an atheist but she said agnosticism was as close as she got.
Lainie’s now back to being a follower of Jesus. She has friends who follow Jesus and sometimes attends church with one of them. She recently joined the Emerging Women blog as a contributor.
Lainie hadn’t heard about the brand new city up/rooted group - I was pleased to be able to share that information with her. This group had its first meeting last month (I couldn’t go because that was the night Brian McLaren was speaking near my house and I really wanted to hear him). The second meeting will be Monday November 19
Lainie shared with me a bit about the challenges of life with Asperger’s. She was only diagnosed four years ago. Growing up she was ‘high-functioning’ and undiagnosed which meant her symptoms were interpreted as misbehavior. She not only had to deal with the the condition but the negative attitudes of those around her. Lainie is in the process of writing a series of posts about living with Asperger’s on her blog.
Most people diagnosed with Asperger’s aren’t able to work - Lainie is one of the few. She told me how frustrating it is when people say things to her like “You seem so normal!” because it minimizes how much effort it takes her to manage her condition enough to live a ‘normal’ life. I can understand that. I find myself wanting to live as ‘normal’ a life as possible, yet wondering “Is it harder for me because I have Bipolar Disordre?” It’s hard to know the answer to that.
Anyway I had a wonderful time with Lainie and we’d both like to do it again, so I’m sure we will. Meanwhile go check out her blog!
Comment by: Lainie Petersen
1 11/14/07 7:48 AM | Comment Link |Helen,
It was a true pleasure getting to meet you yesterday. I had a great time, and only wish that I had been able to stay longer. I hope to see you again after the holidays!
Comment by: John Smulo
2 11/14/07 9:08 AM | Comment Link |You’re both great people. I’m glad to hear you’ve had the opportunity to meet in person.
Comment by: Lainie Petersen
3 11/14/07 9:39 AM | Comment Link |JJ,
Thanks…though we owe it to you for providing such a great community on your blog. :-)
Comment by: Helen
4 11/14/07 10:52 AM | Comment Link |Thanks Lainie and John! Lainie, we’ll definitely do it again after the holidays.
John, I agree with Lainie - you’re wonderful at creating online community on your blog. (Which in my experience means you’re great at it in person too)