Facebook

A few months ago I joined Facebook. I was getting kind of bored, I guess, and my blog muse would disappear for days on end. It didn't take long before I had several friends (mostly relatives) and as time went on, more and more people appeared. Most of them were also new to Facebook, and even now there are new people every day. To say that connecting with old friends--particularly old relatives (not in the age sense), such as a former daughter-in-law, a former daughter-out-law, former step-children I'd not spoken with in years--is a rewarding and touching experience. I don't have to "talk" with these old friends every day; it's enough to know that I can send them a message, that I can drop in on their Facebook page to see what's happening, that they are once again somehow in my life. It warms my heart.

Many of these people--friends and family alike--have not been a part of my life for one reason or another. I moved away. I'm no longer married to their father. They're no longer the significant other of a son. They're children of friends with whom I'm no longer close, but who grew up with my children. There are people from my church that I see on Sundays or on other church functions, but that I really don't know very well, and I find that I am learning about them as they are in their "real" life.

Facebook is about the intricate connections we all have in our lives--those scattered far and wide, those down the street that we don't get to spend time with. I am thrilled to have all these people--past and present--together in one place that I can access almost any time or from almost any place.

I can even learn what my son and daughter-in-law's tavern is serving for lunch every day. How cool is that!