Facebook is an odd thing. A bit lit a cyber-cocktail party where you mingle, catch up with old high school buddies, stalk ex-boyfriends, and you can do all this from your house without having to suck in or put on a party dress. It really is quite fabulous.
I'm learning there are all sorts of facebook friends. Family members, actual friends, those friends that you wish you kept in better touch with, that guy you sat next to in Poli 41. Some facebookers are devoted--they send you flair, play Text Twirl with you, and send you plants to put in your garden (please stop doing this people! There's no way you can convince me that planting cyber plants is going to save the world.) There are even those facebookers who are only on facebook because their wives made them do it. And so you accept their friendship request knowing that you can use them on all your Oregon Trail wagons and they won't care because they never check the thing anyway.
I've gotten some friendship requests from people I don't know. These unknowns fall into two categories--spammers, and people that maybe I "oughtta know" but I can't tell because the darned program won't let me make their picture any bigger. So I refuse the spammers (I don't know ANYONE that lives in India, do I?), and accept the "oughtta knows" and cross my fingers. And having friends in common is a good sign that you've at least met the person, but it's a crap shoot, people.
I also love how FB suggests friends for you. A lot of time I do know their suggestions but turn them down out of fear of being an "oughtta know" or worse, a "wish I didn't know". There are also some people on there that I'm certain I was pretty rude to or ignored, so I pass them over (further ignoring them!) in the fear that they'll write on my wall--"So I'm good enough to be your facebook friend, eh? Where were you in high school?"
But them sometimes Facebook sends you joy. Like getting one more beer out of a floating keg--you get something unexpected--a friendship request from someone you've been cyberstalking for years. This happened to me yesterday, with my dance teacher, and I'm still smiling.
I checked my email to see that I'd received a friendship request from CP. CP? Really? Could it be? I sat frozen staring at the little link wondering if it could be true. Does she really want to be my friend? Is this a mistake? Maybe it's not her. I can't remember if she's gone back to her maiden name. Every time I've googled her, under all the various names I could think of, I've only gotten high school track stars. And suddenly I was flooded with all of my memories of growing up in dance class and how I really wanted to be her. She was kind, the most beautiful regular person I've ever seen, had the best bangs in the whole wide world (it was the early 90s), and more than anyone else could--she made me feel like a million bucks. I was always the biggest girl in the class, but she never made me feel anything other than beautiful. And when, in my junior year of high school, I chose cheerleading, soccer, and drama over dance, it broke my heart.
At some point I realized I needed to take a chance, press the link, and see. And there it was. CP. And she is even prettier than I remembered. And just thinking about her is making me stand straighter, tuck my hips in, and pull in my stomach.
I think I'm going to have to send her some flair.
1 comment:
You left a comment on my blog some time ago. I was honored to have it. I really appreciated the kind words you left and that God brought you there. Good thing I didn't publish it in Esperanto! I always meant to reply and even started one but ended up closing the browser window without finishing. Grr.
Another blessing is that I love reading your blog. It is, hands down, the funniest I know of - primarily because it's packed to bursting with truth and honesty. This Facebook post is a perfect case in point.
I wasn't sure whether to tell you but the daughter we lost was also named Elizabeth. It's a beautiful name and you seem like a wonderful person to know.
I'll be back!
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