So recently I have become a Facebook junkie. I'm not exactly sure why because I have had an account for YEARS but never - until recently - really paid much attention to it. The thing about Facebook is that it's a wonderful tool for reconnecting with people. There are people I have not talked to in years and people who I haven't even thought about in close to a decade. Suddenly, * poof* they're back in your life and you wonder why you ever lost touch with them in the first place.
A month or so ago, I was surprised to get a message from someone I briefly dated the summer after my sophomore year in college. It was an awful summer where I came home from college and my high school sweetheart who was leaving for Europe for the summer decided to tell me that he didn't love me anymore. What followed was a summer of drunken unhappiness. And, in that summer I briefly dated - like for a nanosecond - the person who left me a message on Facebook. I was happy to see that Mr. Nanosecond was happily married and had a very exciting career. He seemed to be in a good place and that made me smile out loud.
Then there are the people that you remember in a certain way only to reconnect and find out that their life has dramatically changed. The last time I saw or talked to D, a high school friend, was during her wedding to W. D was a couple of years older than me and she was like the big sister I never had. D and W were the perfect couple and they were married during my freshman year of college. Yesterday I found out that they had gotten divorced over a decade ago because W was cheating on D for the later part of their marriage. Needless to say, I was shocked.
What also shocked me was the realization of who I used to be. I know I am not the same person that I was when I was 18 drinking at D and W's wedding all those years ago. But, in my head I didn't think I was that much different (maybe just older) and it turns out that I am miles away from who I was at 18. The difference at that point in time seemed like several lifetimes. In that instant of hearing the news, I had to readjust how I saw W and D and then I had to readjust my perception of my own life. Twenty-one years has gone by since I was 18 (yikes!) and in that time I have changed dramatically.
I can't really explain the feeling other than the feeling you get when you look at your kids. Although it seemed like yesterday that my 5 year old was an infant, I realize how much has changed in those 5 years. The news of D and W's marriage was a shocker - I really thought that before I heard the news that the reason they weren't together was because W had passed away. But what seemed even more shocking to me was the realization that SO much time has passed and in that time, D and W got divorced; D is now engaged to marry someone else; children and grandchildren have been born; and somehow I actually grew up.
A month or so ago, I was surprised to get a message from someone I briefly dated the summer after my sophomore year in college. It was an awful summer where I came home from college and my high school sweetheart who was leaving for Europe for the summer decided to tell me that he didn't love me anymore. What followed was a summer of drunken unhappiness. And, in that summer I briefly dated - like for a nanosecond - the person who left me a message on Facebook. I was happy to see that Mr. Nanosecond was happily married and had a very exciting career. He seemed to be in a good place and that made me smile out loud.
Then there are the people that you remember in a certain way only to reconnect and find out that their life has dramatically changed. The last time I saw or talked to D, a high school friend, was during her wedding to W. D was a couple of years older than me and she was like the big sister I never had. D and W were the perfect couple and they were married during my freshman year of college. Yesterday I found out that they had gotten divorced over a decade ago because W was cheating on D for the later part of their marriage. Needless to say, I was shocked.
What also shocked me was the realization of who I used to be. I know I am not the same person that I was when I was 18 drinking at D and W's wedding all those years ago. But, in my head I didn't think I was that much different (maybe just older) and it turns out that I am miles away from who I was at 18. The difference at that point in time seemed like several lifetimes. In that instant of hearing the news, I had to readjust how I saw W and D and then I had to readjust my perception of my own life. Twenty-one years has gone by since I was 18 (yikes!) and in that time I have changed dramatically.
I can't really explain the feeling other than the feeling you get when you look at your kids. Although it seemed like yesterday that my 5 year old was an infant, I realize how much has changed in those 5 years. The news of D and W's marriage was a shocker - I really thought that before I heard the news that the reason they weren't together was because W had passed away. But what seemed even more shocking to me was the realization that SO much time has passed and in that time, D and W got divorced; D is now engaged to marry someone else; children and grandchildren have been born; and somehow I actually grew up.
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