Not waving, but drowning

Been having a lot of strict discussions with myself, recently, about how much more I could get done if I wasn't wasting my time on that darn Facebook. You know, things like........ making something with the 10 lbs of blueberries we picked, organizing the kids' 1000 'small pieces, exercising, talking to my husband, laundry or, how about....actually blogging?

So in these very stern talks to myself, I demand to know what it is about Facebook that is such a siren call. Is it the myriad of quizzes that promise to give me the key to my personality? Is it the addictive quality of Bejeweled Blitz? Is it a latent addiction to voyeurism, spying on the photo albums of friends-of-friends without them knowing? (Did anyone ever read Harriet the Spy in 4th or 5th grade??)

Funny thing is, I don't often go in for those things. I generally find myself obsessed with status updates - Twitter for the slower-moving among us - and the comments that follow. I'm a bit obsessed with coming up with status updates, I mean, crafting statements on 'what's on my mind.' Which always strikes me as a little self-involved, even as I sit down to type a new one.

Finally, this morning I was out walking and it hit me: Facebook is a quick, low-investment way to let people know what's going on in your head, and you get instant feedback to let you know that people are out there, interested enough in your silly life to make a 5 second comment. When you're deep in the trenches, whether that be the cubicle-shaped variety or the minivan type, all you want is a quick affirmation that you're not in this alone. That someone, somewhere, gets what goes through your head.

For me, it is a quick check-in with the adult world. The adults out there with their own little people who can say I hear ya, sister!, but also the adults who will give me the non-child-focused perspective which is a fabulous reality check for me. This is all leavened by the older generation, when they weigh in with the benefit of experience.

So now, I have used up my morning's allotment of goodwill from the Noisemakers. No more workin' on that computer, Mommy! But I just had to post this, about how Facebook keeps me from the uglier corners of my brain. Because it is my way of calling out 'hey folks, I'm not waving, but drowning.'



And those little comments sprinkled on friends' pages, both theirs and mine, those tiny threads of thoughts, are the lifeline to bring me back to shore.