What I Appreciate About My FB Community

For the first time since we humans moved away from the rural landscapes and villages of our ancestors we have a an amazing ability. We can literally turn back the hands of time. Facebook may have a lot of things wrong with it but it has done something amazing, it took the vast wilderness called the internet and given us all a common village. We now have the ability to reconnect with people who just a generation ago, heck just a few years ago, we weren't able to. Friends that grew up together and live on opposite ends of the earth who would have only existed in each others' lives as memories of days gone by are finding each other. Families are creating closer connections. We can maintain relationships we simply could not have not too long ago. How cool is that? Well, unless that dreaded ex comes a-callin'. But that is better left for another blog on another day.
Today, I want to tell you about my facebook community. I might sound a little like Andy Rooney so forgive me if I do, unless you really like Andy Rooney like I do, then feel free to imagine me as an 80 year old grump.
On Facebook I can see what my sons are up to...always a plus in a parent's life, especially when your kids are teens. If I need a pick-me-up, I have a whole bunch of friends and some amazing family members who love to write positive posts on their pages. When I wanna talk serious smack, I've got my buddies. When I need to vent, I've got my best friends. Sometimes friends write comments that really upset me. It doesn't last long, as I remember how cool it is that I have friends who don't all think like me. What a boring life I would have if that were the case. I've got some funny, sarcastic friends who always know how to twist an issue, make me laugh and remind me to never take myself too seriously. I've got deep intellectual friends who teach me something with every one of their posts. I have adventurous friends who share photos of their exploits. I live vicariously through those who choose to live in places like China "just because" or those who spend every free moment away from work hiking mountains, jumping out of airplanes, scuba diving, or ballroom dancing. Others are passionate about a cause or societal issue. I don't always agree with them or support their cause but I always love to hear their points of view. Helps me grow. I have military friends who are currently deployed to dangerous places serving this great country of ours even though very few Americans truly appreciate their service. I do and I think of them daily. They're my heroes. I have religiously devout friends and I am in awe sometimes at their strength in keeping their faith while the self-proclaimed intellectual elite slowly pick at their every belief. I have really well-to-do friends who I keep around in hopes they'll leave me something in their wills :). I have friends who are whiners, big babies, and high-maintenance and I LOVE them because they make me feel "needed". I even have some "friends" on Facebook who probably aren't friends at all. There are a few who are on my page probably hoping to see me lose it and finally be "negative". That's why I refuse to. As a great mentor of mine taught me many years ago, you can go around kicking rocks in the parking lot all day long feeling sorry for yourself, or you can "choose" to be positive, "choose" to win. By and large, my buddies from high school, my military friends, my acquaintances, and especially my family members who are on Facebook help me do just that.