I received a message today on my Facebook wall that brought tears to my eyes. Not because of what it said, although the message was sweet and much needed. The tears came because the message came from a woman that was a part of my past that was self-destructive, and made few women friends. It got me to thinking.
When I was young, I knew people that I attended school and Sunday School with. Oh, and lots of cousins. When I became an "adult", I met people I worked with and attended bars with. Lots of bars. Lots of people. Lots. And it wasn't all good. I pissed alot of people off. Drinking alot, and searching for the man that would prove Daddy wrong. I didn't make many woman friends.
At that time, the 60's, 70's, 80's, we knew people by what we heard/saw/perceived. No behind the scenes stories to explain the whys of a person. The government was priviledged to have that ability for many years with a computer system that could access other computers across something later called cyberspace. I'm not sure how the story goes, as to how WWW came to the common folk, but at some point it opened up the world.
In our house, it oozed in in 1997. Although I didn't know its power yet, the idea of searching for anything my heart desired was appealing. What I discovered at that time were chat rooms. Some strange, some boring, some supportive. As I tend to do, I became addicted to the chat rooms that offerred support for my newly diagnosed Fibromyalgia. I spent hours chatting. I didn't "know" these helpful people, but they were my friends. Slowly, the fun chat rooms closed and everything became too serious for me, so I went in search (because I could!) for something else to fill my time. I found games networks. I spent my days looking for hidden objects like a pro. After all, I'd spent a great deal of my childhood in Dr.s' waiting rooms, and had found every toaster or chicken in a tree that Highlight magazine could offer.
One day, I don't remember when, the term "MySpace" entered my psyche. I'd heard stories of how such sites preyed on the young people it was set up to attract. No child of mine would become a victim. But, as kids do, my ex-stepdaughter set up an account at a friends house. Slowly, I began hearing that this MySpace was actually a fun way to stay in contact with people, share music, and express your personality. Hmmm. A way to have fun and monitor child safety at once? I was "in"! It was fun, there were a few games, people to chat with, virtual gardens...a real entertaining "Space".
And then there was something much better. It was set up for college kids originally, and young people took to it like peanut butter to jelly. When both young ones in my house had accounts online, I signed up for Facebook. At first, my friends were classmates of my ex-stepdaughter. Then I found a few adults I knew, "friended them". Then there were more. And relatives. And old classmates, work comrads, and what I have listed as "back in the day". People I knew during my party days.
Life comes full circle. I am now "friends" with two of the women that treated me badly in my days of recklessness. And they are kind. The message I got today was from one of them.
Along with the fact that we've matured, healed, and had experiences that have shaped us over these past 30 years, there is Facebook. We can send virtual gifts, birthday wishes, share joys and sorrows, share gaming, and get to know each other in a way that face to face doesn't allow for most. And, yes, there is a downside to not being face to face. Accountability. Mudslinging has risen at an unfortunate and astounding rate. But, not in my Facebook "family".
And family! I've reconnected or increased connectivity with family members. I've seen their children and grandchildren--the future of our family tree.
The future. My goodness, what wide, wonderful world will open to us in the future?
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