Un-friended

My Best Friend of 20+ years is leery of on-line social networking. She actually thinks it is impersonal and weird (Hmmmm).  She says too much time is spent "Twittering, Facebooking, and blogging." Therefore, we don't have time for what is really important... relationships. What we need to be doing is spending quality time with our family, friends, and in prayer with the Lord. I agree that technology really does infringe upon family time. TV, the internet, and video games eat up much of the time that parents used to play ball in the back yard, read, or allow their children to "just" play. My entire childhood I was outside exploring. So I did see her point. She is a smart cookie. Good advice from a very good friend. But I scoffed a little bit. I really enjoy blogging and I feel that it has enriched my life. There is a tremendous amount of junk on the internet but there is also so much good. I learn so much from the other Mom's blogs and "Google University" has saved me more than once. Last year, I joined Facebook. It has been neat to find old friends but I don't like to pursue friendships on-line. One of my favorite blogs is by an incredible woman named Elizabeth Foss. She is married to her High School sweetheart and mother of nine amazing kids. She Homeschools and is an excellent educator and prolific writer. She is also a cancer survivor and one of the most devout Catholic women I have ever heard of. One of her recent blogs was about the fact she had just been "un-friended" on Facebook. Who in the world would NOT want a woman like that on their friend list? I would love to have her on mine! Well, it just happened. Today I came home from a wonderful church service and a good day with my family. We spent the afternoon with my In-Laws. I checked my e-mail and hopped on Facebook and there it was...I was un-friended. By a close friend, I thought. I keep friends for a very long time. They have been my life-line through many of the toughest times of my life. When one ends it is hard on me. I think Elizabeth Foss' article articulates this phenomenon of "un-friending" better than I could. I am actually thinking of closing my account. I rarely check it and anybody who really wants to talk to me calls me. Lesson learned.