Ah, to Reminisce

The new deal in town is Facebook. Having it is essential, not having it is nearly criminal. I only know a couple people who don't have Facebook, and I pity the vast void they must feel in their lonely little worlds of anti-networking torture. Heh. Nah, actually I envy their willpower to not give into the brain-suck that IS the top social-networking site in the world. I signed up for a Facebook account for a valid reason, I tell you. Ready for this? I'm nosy. I'm undeniably, inexcusably nosy. It started off with photo viewing. I like to see how all my old pals are doing. Then I saw how easy it was to "add" friends. When in your whole life have you ever been able to gain friends at the click of a button? Some people you'd really never hang out with in the real world, suddenly on your list of "friends" because you happen to have 31 mutual friends between you, which ultimately suggests, of course, that YOU should be friends too! But it's cool, 'cause then you can look at their pictures. Then I started adding the people that I should add because I just should. Like business aquaitances, old teachers, family members. Not that I wouldn't have added them anyway, but I realized at this point I wasn't just "socially networking." I was building an empire of people. I noticed people posting high scores in Facebook games. Not much of a gamer myself, I casually browsed the options and didn't see anything that sparked interest. Until I learned of Farmville. As a woman who secretly and wistfully harbors the desire to be a farmer, what could feed my desires better than a virtual version? Of course! I could do it all day long, and never get dirty. And I didn't even have to get up before dawn to tend to my farm duties! Well, not till I started planting grapes, anyway, but that's beside the point. I shuddered at the thought of going into labor unexpectedly, as the day loomed before me and my belly seemed to stretch when no more stretch seemed possible. I prayed that my c-section would go as planned, and I'd be able to keep my farm in its impeccable shape without any lapse...or withering, for you virtual farmers. Then September 23 came, and so did my labor. And the fleeting thought of my Facebook farm entered and left my brain in a "oh my gosh, I can't believe I was worried about that" fashion. Needless to say, I gave up the farm. But not Facebook. Oh no. This addiction runs deep. I even had my little red lappy in the hospital room with me, and although I really didn't use it, I made sure my husband posted all the new baby pics that were taken, so my Facebook folks would know my "status." Which is a little funny, too, because if I were being honest at the time, it probably would have said something like: Sara Hendrixson is "in a desperate and hopeless pain, wishing for a gigantic sausage pizza and not one more nurse to walk through the door to push on my recently massacred tummy. Also feeling incredibly depressed about the tubal. What was I thinking?" Instead I said something warm and fuzzy and socially appropriate about being a new mom to a beautiful baby girl...which was also very true, just not the complete picture, ya know?
Reconnection with friends is really the best part of Facebook. There are people I would literally never see again without the help of this website. I would never know if they'd gotten married or had children or graduated college. Now I know, and likewise, they know about me. In fact, I've reconnected with several people since I've developed my profile on this catchy little site. I had dinner just last night with an old friend from way back when. It was great to catch-up on old times, laugh about things we used to do for fun, and discuss the latest and greatest. We talked about our current lives, our college experiences, and relationships. When I returned home, my husband asked if I'd had a nice time. I told him I had a great time...and yet that there was something so different about my relationship with this friend...something I had to think about for a while. So I thought. And thought. I woke up in the middle of the night and thought more. And my conclusion? It's kind of silly how simple it is: we grew up. She is a mature and capable woman with ambitions and goals and strong life-principles and ethics of her own, much different from the carefree days of high school, when we all proudly displayed an "anything goes" attitude. Yes, she's loved and been loved...she's been hurt, and she's rebounded. She's learned the value of hard work, and learned how hard it is when someone tries to compromise that. And then the second reality of this whole thought process was that I grew up too...but beyond that, what had I really expected? That we'd be like kids again? No. I'm proud to say that although she's an old friend, she's a new friend in the same way.
And I suppose that was the gist of the whole blog tonight...the "re" connection that Facebook has allowed for people like me. It doesn't just connect old lives. It intertwines the new with the old, and the results are pleasantly surprising in most cases.
So here's to old friends, new acquaintances, reuniting....and of course, photo-snooping.
Cheers.