Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Facebook and Lessons in Life

I recently caught up with technology and got a "page" on Facebook. Everyone warned me it was addicting ... maybe I'm just not doing it right, but I'm just not into all the "poking", "throwing snowballs", and "group joining".

However, I have discovered the voyeuristic side of me. I love finding out what everyone is up to at the moment. How cool is it to know at the click of the mouse what someone is doing ... be it baking cookies with their kids, coming back from an overseas trip, or just munchin' on some oranges in anticipation of our beloved Bearcats playing in the Orange Bowl on New Year's Day (sorry, shameless plug!)

Also, Facebook has been both a blessing and a curse as I have connected with long lost friends from high school, college, and my D.I.N.K. life before the boys.

One of my happiest surprises was finding one of my closest friends from high school after over 15 years ... and finding out she, too, has triplets. What are the odds, really?

One of my saddest surprises was finding one of my classmates developed a rare form of leukemia at 34 and passed away after only a six month battle. She left behind a 15 month old daughter. In high school, Kari and I ran in the same crowd. We were never close friends, more like friendly acquaintances with lots of mutual friends. I remember her as an outgoing, funny, inspiring person -- in fact, she inspired until the very end of her too short life. She had taped an appearance on Oprah to discuss her life, but she passed two weeks before it aired.

I wept as I went through her online journal detailing the last six months of her life. I realized how lucky I was to not only have my health, but the health of my husband, my family, and my boys. In this tough economic time and the "gimme, gimme, gimme" holiday season, I too easily forget to be truly thankful for the blessings I have.

I want to share with all of you a quote she posted on her site. It is so simple, so eloquent, so true ... it is a quote that perfectly fits my friend Kari.

“God only gives us as much as we can handle…. I only wish that He did not trust me so much”
-Mother Theresa

2 comments:

Minde Herbert said...

I'm so sorry to hear about your friend. As we were planning our reunion last year we were surprised and saddened to hear of the passing of some of our classmates. Too many gone too soon, leaving behind sons and daughters and spouses... I've lost two people this year and recently found out that a good friend has been diagnosed with a rare liver cancer. He has two young children and loving wife. Life is fragile and fabulous and perhaps the biggest lesson is that we need to be aware and thankful for every God-given moment. Again, so sorry for the tough news.

Nicole O'Dell said...

I hear you on the blessing and curse of facebook. It's been a real eye-opener, though. So sorry that you learned of a tough loss.