Thanks, Facebook

I mentioned yesterday that we hosted a group of my old college friends for dinner last weekend, and I would now like to take a moment to thank the people that made the great gathering possible: Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/


Are you on it? Are we friends? If you don't know what I'm talking about, you must live under a rock or log on to your computer only to check your email and read my blog. Facebook is everywhere.


The Facebook craze started for me way back when I was in grad school . . . back in 2005, you had to have a college email address to open a Facebook account. I opened my account as a grad student, and I kept up with my grad student friends on the site. In the 4 years since, they've changed their model and opened their social networking site to pretty much anyone who would like to join. And join people have . . . 200 million worldwide, according to my Google search.





There are several college friends of mine that I've become reacquainted with, and I'm loving it. I love to see where people have gone, who they've married, where they are working. These were the people I lived with from 18-21 yrs old . . . these are the people who watched me awkwardly grow up from a spoiled teenager to a semi-hard working young adult. They were some of the closest friends I've had . . . though time and circumstances may have forced us to grow apart. I'm really enjoying the ability to find those friends and let them know that I've been thinking of them.


We all have friends on there that we are really, truly interested in reconnecting with. And we all have friends on there who we only 'friended' so that we could see their pictures. (C'mon. You know you do that.) And we all have friends that say, "Let's get together!" but never do. I decided to take a step and reach out beyond the keyboard . . . that there were a few 'friends' of mine from college that lived near me that I really would love to see again. So, I did it. I pulled the trigger. We all chatted on email, picked a date, and had a little party.


Four of my college sorority sisters came over for a barbecue at our house on Sunday afternoon. It was a really fun group . . . one 'sister' my year in school and three that were the pledge class below us. We all lived in the house together at one point, so we all knew each other very well . . . once upon a time. These girls and I had a lot of fun together back in the late '90s (how old are we?!).

We instantly segregated our groups -- girls in the playroom with the kids, boys in the TV room watching football. We caught up on each others lives and the lives of other sisters who we've each kept up with. We ate yummy dips and watched our kids run circles around us. It was an awesome, girly, chatty evening.


On a side note . . . another thing that was really good about Sunday's party was that it was my friends. That might sound strange . . . but it's true. These girls were all my sorority sisters. They weren't the wives of Jim's college friends (which is who we spend quite a bit of time with), and they weren't friends we'd made since we've been married. They were my friends.



We don't spend as much time with my friends as I'd like . . . but I think that is pretty common among women. We do spend a lot of time with our husband's friends/families because women are just more social. It's easier for a girl to spend time with someone she doesn't know -- at least I think it is. We women don't mind hanging out with our husband's buddies . . . people we might not know that well . . . because we'll get to know them by spending time with them. That's what girls do. Guys, on the other hand, aren't always as social . . . it's harder for them to enjoy events where they don't know anyone. So I guess we, women, don't make them do it as much. Sunday is the perfect example: the guys didn't sit around talking to each other while the girls were gabbing away. They sat together, sure . . . but they watched football and just kinda hung out. (I hope they enjoyed themselves!)

Anyway . . . another great thing was the kids being there. All of the kids played so well together . . . a Kindergartner, 3 3 yr olds, a 2 yr old, and a newbie. A great crowd made up of mostly girls. They loved sitting at Meg's Little Tykes picnic table together for dinner -- though I don't think any of them ate a bite. They gobbled up some ice cream and cupcakes for dessert, then they were off again to swing and slide and play. I think the kids may have had more fun together than the ladies did!

So, anyway, thanks to Facebook, I had a great night with my friends. The website and it's addicting time-waster accessories might suck more of my life away from me than I'd like . . . but at least it now officially has one redeeming quality in my book.



(And in case you were wondering, we were all Sigma Kappas at UGA.)

(Oh . . . and Suzanne and Keisha . . . Meg insisted on wearing her blue outfit once again today. She saw that I'd washed it yesterday, and instantly it was her 'must wear' for school today. She is something else! I've been trying to get her to wear that outfit for weeks . . . thanks to Hannah and Ms. Keisha, she finally will!)