So I Might Be a Little OCD...

I have a confession. About an obsession.

*looks around* I play World of Warcraft. And yes, I'm an actual female. Worse yet, I'm the guild master (or guild mom, as they call me). The GM.

For the non-techies, I'll explain: World of Warcraft, or WoW, is an MMORPG -- a massively multiplayer online role playing game. Or, as my hubby likes to joke, many men online role playing girls. When you play WoW, you have the option of joining a guild, which, if it's a good one, should be your online family -- the people you run around with, talk to, enjoy your time online with. Much like the blogging community, once you've found your niche. When you start a guild, you are the guild master, or GM. (There are also Game Masters, also GMs, that solve in-game problems, but we won't go there.)

So for the last couple of years, I have played WoW, and for the last year and a half, I have been GM of my very own guild. Like any large hierarchical volunteer group, it's had its ups and downs and its drama from time to time, but it's a cool bunch of people, and they're keepers. Many of them are the great co-workers mentioned in the post just prior to this one.

I've been reading lots of blogs lately. My favorite is BooMama's, but I've surfed around through lots of her readers and found some great stuff. I'm pretty sure the whole WoW thing makes me a raving lunatic in that crowd. Ah well. Sobeit.

As much fun as the game is, and as cool as the people are -- and these are real relationships with real people that develop online, much like in the blogging world -- I have to say that the ones that are the most bittersweet are with the guild's teenagers. We have a few that don't have the happiest home lives, and for those kids, I'm their online mom. I love them. I email them, text them, call them, play WoW with them. In one or two cases, it's possible I'm the only glimpse of God they've ever had. And they let me -- and sometimes ask me -- to pray for them.

You can too if you like. I won't name real names, but pray for my kiddo with the great sense of humor who's had health problems and is now suffering anxiety attacks. Pray for my kiddo who is so sweet and so complex that he teaches manners and dancing when he's not hating himself. Pray for my sweet girl who's so fierce and so independent -- living on her own for 2 years and only 17.

And now you know why I won't give up this game. The adults are great too, and I'm just as much in their lives, but those kids... those kids just slay me. I am theirs and they are mine. God gave them to me, and I'll stay with them as long as they'll have me.