Facebook Findings

Facebook is a funny thing. With family spread from coast to coast it has been a uniter for our family. The west coast cuz is privy to the same trivial, day to day news that my daughter down the street is. We share the pics of the famjams so the ones who missed out, can still join in a laugh or two and the notes and teasings we post on our walls pokes the collective ribs of the clan.

I have limited the people I add to my Facebook account to my family, close friends and special work colleagues. It is not a collection of every human being I have encountered since birth. My guideline is simple: if I ran into that person on the street, would I update them on my family and whip out the kid pics? If so - they are added. Some peripheral people I knew distantly in school or in passing (in a small town everyone knows everyone - or thinks they do) invite me to add them - and I do - with limited access.

In addition to the people you may not be all too thrilled to reconnect with, Facebook can also deliver some wonderful surprises. In the past few months it connected me with a few special friends I hadn't seen since college years. It is heartwarming to browse their family pictures and see how their lives unfolded. As grown ups we can enjoy one another on a whole other level. A sparkling lady who had been one of my mom's dearest friends added me as a friend. She had spent many hours with us as children - not only did we play with her kids, but she also baby sat us so my mom could take night courses. She and my mom supported one another through the harried years of motherhood. She is now a grandmother and it is comforting to see her still perpetual wide smile shining through in every picture. oops ... tearing up here...

And then last week, my first work mentor we are talking 1981 here ... the man who gave me my very first promotion found my work Facebook account and contacted me. We had worked together at two different cable companies and he played a pivotal role in my work life. He is a kindly man with gentle brown eyes, an openly compassionate man who we dubbed the "hugger". We exchanged brief emails with promises to meet for coffee. Then on Sunday at my charity event, there was Mr. Hugger and his wife! We hugged  *naturally* and spent half an hour catching up - discussing his cancer journey, perusing the grandpics, chatting about old times. Fate had taken our reunion into its own hands - starting with a Facebook intervention.

So I guess I am trying to say that I am really enjoying the surprises and happy nuggets that Facebook has been dropping my way. Findings can be moving.