It Feels a Little Dirty, and a Little Voyeuristic, but...

I finally buckled to the pressure. I had dug my heels in for quite some time. I had resisted the pressure to live what I felt was the existence of the everyday teenager of 2009. I guess I was wrong, but it still feels a little strange.

Yeah, I am talking about Facebook. I had turned down multiple offers in the past to join this online network. I really believed that it was the domain of the teenager and college student. Then I realized that sundry friends and family members were no longer in contact with me. I knew that they had not fallen off the proverbial "face of the earth," and I figured that it was fairly impossible that I had upset them enough that they no longer wanted to talk with me - seeing as I am now thousands of miles away. Then I came to the assumption that they had been wooed by the voodoo that is Facebook and that, if I wanted to be in regular contact with them, I would have to surrender my soul to this sinister web of indulgence and addiction. I am now on facebook. I can be found under "Marsha Peterson Fitzpatrick," because, as much as I would have liked to, I did not use a pseudonym when I signed up.

I must say that this site has been wonderful in that it has put me in contact with at least one very good friend from high school, and facilitated regular contact with friends from college and adulthood. Those same friends who would never return regular emails or - GASP - write an actual letter!!! As good as all that is, I now find myself writing short (by short, I mean one or two lines) about things like the fez that Chris bought while he was in Morocco. WHO CARES - really? I also find myself reading about people's everyday comings and goings - eating dinner, watching TV, doing laundry, etc. It is almost like on line reality TV. It feels a little dirty and a little voyeuristic, but it has reconnected me with important people from my past. Ahhhhhhh technology.

That being said, it was a big week in our house. Katie finished first grade this week. She had been fighting off some kind of illness, but antibiotics enabled her to be there on her last day, Thursday. She had a great day and came home sad. She is really going to miss her friends and is already anticipating second grade in September. While I was sad that she was crying, I was so happy that she has made such good friends here and loves her school that much. I just can't believe that she is almost 7 and a second grader, to boot.
Many of you know that Chris is not making the trip back to the U.S. with us this summer. He cannot get away from work long enough to justify the cost of the trip and the time it takes to traverse the Atlantic. He is, however, going to meet up with some friends in Ireland for several days and have a short golf vacation. I am thinking that he can't wait for the day when Jameson can join him. What do you think?