Writing Together

Writing can be a lonely job.
At least that's what they say. I've not really discovered it to be so because I've pretty much had someone come alongside me through my whole journey. The last few years, I've had an extra special relationship with Heather Greer and Erin Howard, getting together several times a year to hang out, write, edit, and lift each other up. We also have a constant message thread going.
I've had a few friends close by who are willing to get together every so often too. But one of them moved away and the other had a baby, so we haven't been able to meet as much.
And I've been so busy this last year, it's been hard for me to meet with anyone as often as I like.
Well, a few months ago, I went to a local author signing event at a bookshop in town. I wanted to meet one of the authors there who I knew through social media. And while there, I also met another local author, and she invited me to a group she'd started of other Christian authors in the area.
I tried it out a few months later, and I'm hooked. It's not that I'm learning a ton from them. I've been doing this for so long now, it's not that there's nothing else I can learn. It's just that I'm farther on the journey than a lot of these authors.
But it's the camaraderie of it. Spending time with people who understand. Who know what it feels like to have that itch to write something down. To have characters speak to you. And it's so nice to just be around people who get it.
They may say writing is a lonely occupation, but I'm not sure I agree. I have so many groups of authors I interact with online and now in person. And it's a wonderful community. I feel so blessed to be a part of it.
What do you think? Do you have a group of people who understand you more than others? Do you keep your "people" nearby to help you as you journey through life?