Last night I didn’t feel like writing a post for this morning. The weather turned chilly again (and no, my east coast friends, I am not whining that it was only 60 degrees yesterday, merely commenting) so I lit a fire and pulled my chair up to it. I got out my laptop and thought about writing, but quickly drifted onto Facebook, which spiraled into a connect-the-dots search of all the names and faces I thought I’d forgotten.
For all its pitfalls (endless baby photos, gushing stories of kids’ antics) I find Facebook fascinating. It’s the ultimate voyeuristic thrill. I get to peer into the lives of people I once knew, without having to actually reignite whatever relationship might once have existed. And yes, as the dorky kid in high school, I get a certain satisfaction from seeing that some of the prettiest, coolest, most popular kids never amounted to much after all, and that the people I find most interesting now are some of the ones who had the toughest time in school. My nerdy friend, who never had a girlfriend, became an award-winning documentary filmmaker and travels the world with his beautiful partner; my friend from preschool who turned Goth, became a brilliant artist; and the weirdest kid in school became a theatre actor and someone I’d enjoy being friends with now. Life is a funny old thing and you can’t predict which way it’s going to go.
The one thing that does give me the willies on Facebook, is seeing some of those former classmates with kids. The guy with the cruel streak, the pot head, the former heart throb destined for fame and fortune – all grinning from the entrance of Disney World with their wives and numerous offspring. These are people who weren’t responsible enough to take care of a pencil, let alone another human being. But there they are, being parents.
And I’m also surprised at the number of people I knew in school who don’t have kids and I can’t help but wonder why. Was it by choice or do we have more in common now than we ever did back then.
So, it’s more of a Reflective Wednesday for me, but as that doesn’t have the same ring to it as Whiny Wednesday, I’m opening the floor to you.
I see what you mean… but don’t you think you are – we are, since i sometimes feel the same about old school friends – a bit unfair on them? I mean: The nerdy classmate, the dorky friend…. they all turned out as interesting and successful people. Why couldn’t the former school bully who wasn’t responsible enough to take care of a pencil….. have turned out as a successful, loving husband and father?
I once heard that everyone peaks once in their life. You may have several “peaks” but only one true peak-your highest and shiniest time. With a lifespan of about 80 years, I am glad I didn’t “peak” in highschool!
My whine is about “bumping” into children where they are not suppose to be (in my mind at least). For example, baby carriages next to the treadmil at the gym, at marriage/couple’s retreats, in the infertility doc’s waiting room, in the sports bar…sitting at the bar, etc. If I mention it to ANYone I am told that I don’t understand because…(wait for it)…because I don’t have children. Or my other all time fav…wait until you have children.