I have been captivated by…..........wait for it…Facebook, or crackbook as it has come to be called in some circles. At the ripe age of 52, I find myself checking FB on a pretty regular basis. It started out innocently enough. One of my younger colleagues talked me into putting on a Facebook page a little over a year ago. I posted some family photos and a bit of info about myself but that was pretty much it. My colleague was my only FB friend and how much can you share when you spend 8 hours a day together anyway and you are old enough to be her mother? I checked it maybe twice in the first year that I had it. Then suddenly, at the beginning of January, I started getting “friend” notices in my email for FB. Old friends whom I rarely spoke with had joined the FB community and found me. Now I have 66 friends, more than I have ever had in “real” life and it keeps me busy, let me tell ya.In one way, I feel kind of like a voyeur, peeping into people’s lives and seeing what they’re up to at any given moment in time. They don’t even have to know I’m checking. And yet, these folks are offering it up, as am I. On the other hand, I am finding a sweet and gentle connection to people who may have just as easily dropped from my life forever never to be heard from again otherwise. I’m thankful for these connections and privileged that they choose to call me a FB friend. I’m also thankful for the opportunity to catch up with the children of my old friends, another significant aspect of FB. Some I knew from church years ago, and others are children of friends that I maintain infrequent contact with, and still others that are nieces and nephews that I barely ever talk to. Before FB, I would hear bits and pieces of their comings and goings, accomplishments and growth. Now, many are my FB friends, a dubious distinction for them – a delight for me. I hear what they’re doing, see their pictures, and converse with them on a limited basis – I don’t want to make a middle-age pest of myself.
I thought about this today after reading a particularly beautiful posting by the daughter of one of my dearest old friends. She contacted me to be a FB friend a few weeks ago which really pleased me. I am a little reticent of asking the younger ones to be FB buddies because I have heard they don’t like the dinosaurs invading their FB space, so I was honored to have her choose me. I haven’t spent much time with this beautiful child in the past 15 or so years. Although my friendship with her mom continues, it is remote because of distance, schedules and interests. I was at the hospital the night this child was born and our tight group of friends spent much time together when she was little. Then, our group began to dissolve with family, children and responsibility taking the forefront of our lives and sending us in separate directions.
You never think when you are young that this will happen with your group of buddies. You see yourselves as forever together, growing old, doing the things you have always done together. Maybe that happens sometimes – I don’t know. I doubt it. Life has a way of altering your plans for you. That is why the FB post put on by my dear friend’s daughter really got me. She talks about sometimes wanting to be a little girl again, and about sometimes…being one. We have all felt that way at one time or another. Her words ring true for childhood, friendships, family and dreams. This is Naomi’s post:
Oh, To Be a Little Girl Again!
"It's a beautiful day today...the sky is blue, spring is in the air, and the sun is shining brightly. I love my "grown up" life immensely--the busy flurry I run around in, the feats I accomplish, the endless striving for success, pushing myself to be better, learning new things, and taking care of business. But sometimes I stop in the midst of my whirl of adulthood and wish with all my heart that I could go back to being a little girl, blissfully ignorant of all the cares of the world, caring only that the sky was blue, the flowers plentiful, and the butterflies light and airy. I miss having the freedom to wear a tiara, to change my clothes six times a day, to splash in puddles, and to sing loudly and badly any little song in my heart. I wish I had more time to explore the woods, to gaze at the clouds, to soak in the moonlight, to twirl in the rays of sunshine. At heart, this is what I am. A little girl. And yes, I still sing the song in my heart, twirl in the sun, stare at the moon, and wear tiaras from time to time. I love my life, this balance of childhood and adulthood. I can't wait to have my own little girls---I'll have a legitimate excuse to giggle all the time!! :)' ~Naomi
To all my friends, FB friends, and family: I love you.
