I have come full circle, sitting on the same sunporch couch where this all started. I enjoyed a full day of Hanna. It was much like a snow day; however I decided to designate it a Lump Day. (Lump Day is a family tradition begun by my brother-in-law Tim and his family for the day-after Christmas. You don't get out of your pajamas and you play with all your toys). I have watched two movies, one on Instaview, I Twittered and listened to Pandora. I added friends, links and stuff to my Facebook account, and I made three Animoto videos. Soon after I added a link in Facebook to a Newsweek article, "A letter to Hillary," I was called by a national issues survey. Do they monitor Facebook? And yes, one mo' time, Brian reminded me how I said I didn't see how people could sit in front of a computer all day.(This was in the "I- told-you-so" yada, yada, yada spirit but with a smile.)
The reason for this post is that the last holdout on my Exploration was Facebook. I had several reasons. There was privacy, and the fear of invading that of my sons. I had also observed all those kids on the computers huddled over posts and smirking. I know it has been used for negative purposes. But like any other tool, I now realize that its all in how it's used.
I signed on because a coworker said it was fun. She had connected with a friend of her daughter's, and she said it was creative (making your own Flair!). So I joined in. My son said 'Whoo-hoo'; he was happy to be my first friend. Initially I hesitated asking people if they wanted to be my friend. Would they say no? What about the man from Columbia, South America who shares my maiden name? Should he be my friend? I have since learned there are many others in Columbia and the Mideast. I lurked and watched. It took me a while to realize that this is just a way to keep in touch; and if it was really private no one would post it, although I have still not gone international.
Last, but not least, I want to give some thanks to Father Andy at St. Mary's. He has a blog (www.reflectbay.blogspot.com). Months before I began this project, he mentioned his blog in the church bulletin and I periodically check in. Beside looking forward to his posts and poetry, he was the inspiration for my figuring out a way to get the picture of the moon rising over the Chesapeake Bay in my header.
