Is My Life Just a Facebook Status?

I started thinking about that question over the last few days. When did life become a Facebook status? Is it really a good gauge on the quality of one’s life? Here’s what got me thinking...

My little girl had to have her tonsils removed on Thursday. The night before, I posted about it on my Facebook page sharing my concerns and asking for prayers. I received lots of comments, likes, etc. I personally really appreciated all that people had to say. Many shared their own experiences and advice on making recovery easier. I kept all of that in my mind as we went in for the procedure.

Once they had taken her back for the surgery, my nerves were going haywire. My husband was there and he’s a great support, but my instinct was to post what was happening at that moment. I realized then how much I rely on the support I receive electronically. However, I didn’t post.

After we were reunited with her in recovery, I was tempted to post the funny things she said like “did they take my uvula too?” (That little dangly thing in the back of your throat; her brother told her that his art teacher’s was accidentally removed when her tonsils were removed). Or how she pointed to the anesthesiologist as he walked by and said, “I like that guy!” But again I refrained.

Our first night home was horrendous to say the least. As she struggled to deal with the supersized, swollen uvula gagging her, as she threw up, as she cried that she wanted the uvula removed… I yearned to reach out to my Facebook world. I knew that maybe one of my nurse friends would be online in the middle of the night. They work crazy hours. Or maybe one of the other mom friends of mine was up with their sleepless child. But again… I didn’t post.

Why not? Why didn’t I reach out and see what kind of support I could find? I don’t know really. I guess I was worried that I’d seem like someone fishing for kind words. I guess I’m afraid of becoming too reliant on my cyber community. And don’t we all secretly scoff at people who share their whole lives on Facebook? I have always put parameters around my usage anyway. Things like not playing the games (because I don’t want everyone’s newsfeed overloaded with what pig I’m looking for in Farmville or what I won playing Bingo Blitz) and not doing surveys and the like. And I’ve never “checked in” anywhere. Seriously, besides not wanting people to know my every move, I really don’t think that’s safe!

All this concern over my Facebook life and that’s not the only social media outlet out there. I confess that I finally joined Twitter, but only to follow my favorite band, Train, and Ellen. I haven’t the slightest desire to tweet every thought and feeling. Plus my Facebook status word count is limited enough. The pressure to keep my tweets concise would be too much! Maybe that’s the real reason I blog. I have more space to share my thoughts, random as they are, with readers. I’m not fishing for kind words either, but I do hope you enjoy the read! Now I better end this blog so I can go post that my daughter is finally doing better!