dai un bacione alla piccola….digli che arriva da Roma….
Say what you will about Facebook. I can tolerate the “look at me posts”, the “so not-tongue-in-cheek” comments and the political mumbo-jumbo of the entire platform. What it comes down to – the true beauty of this beast – is its absolute connectivity.
The phrase above translates to: “Give the little one a kiss and let her know it arrived from Rome”.
Can you think of a better message to receive?
Thank you Facebook.
Hello. My name is CC Fowler and I have been a Facebook user since 2006.
I joined shortly after my second child was born and truth be told, I joined to see what old friends I lost touch with were up to. Once I had found everyone I thought I wanted to find, my usage and purpose for Facebook evolved. With my curiosity satiated, I began to delete “friends” who clearly were connected to me for the same reasons I was connected to them – to be nosy. There was no loved lost and it seemed I was not alone in this action. I was deleted by many a-friends too and quite honestly, it felt good.
But with as many “friends” as I deleted, I gained many more.
My relationship with Facebook again morphed into a phase which clearly mirrored my life at that time. Deciding the housing market was officially kaput, Hubby and I decided to set our roots and become part of our local community. And with this move came a new slew of friends – local friends, parents of my children’s friends and neighbors too. It was the perfect tool to stay connected and keep track of what was cooking locally. It is still to this day, one my favorite parts of Facebook.
But nothing ever stays the same and yet another phase began to take over.
In 2011, Facebook prompted my alias life of CC Fowler – the blogger. Why write a status about motherhood or being a mother who freely chose to return to work when I could write a post? Why not share my experiences with those who were about to embark, were already sharing the ride or just deciding to take this crazy roller coaster of motherhood journey. With that, Centraljerseyworkingmoms was born. Through this phase of Facebook, I have met and made more “friends” – many of whom I respect and treasure. In fact, we became friends after we met on Facebook! Who would have ever thought! Certainly not me.
Seven years later – 7 years ( I can hardly believe it’s been seven years) – Facebook is a part of my every day life. I use it to catch up with friends. I use it for work. I use it like I use my coffee machine – every day and often. I can remember approaching the Executive Director of my company suggesting we create a company Facebook page. It was a rejected idea that eventually was accepted. Today, I administer six company pages.
Nothing places a smile on my face faster than and old friend sharing a birthday of their parent or the announcement of the birth of a child. News I would not be privy to if I was not on Facebook. Sure, there are times (many in fact) where reading a “friend’s” post will send me into a tizzy, but over the years I have come to learn these posts are “friends” trying to communicate who they are (or want us to believe they are) and they have just as much right to enjoy their dose of Facebook as much as I (see the joys of “unfriending” earlier in this post).
Only time will tell how Facebook will impact me – my view of society – others perceptions of me – and my perceptions of others. But until then, I am CC Fowler and I’m a Facebook user.
Now how about a vague post to draw out a response?
I am not certain that I can still blame Super Storm Sandy, but I feel like I am in perpetual catch-up mode. Just last week, I realized that Ash Wednesday was less than one week away and Valentine’s Day was hot on its tail. Sure I posted on my Facebook page cute crafts and ideas for children to do, but at the time of posting I assumed I had plenty of time to get my act together.
Wrong.
Sunday night I realized that the adorable crafts and cards I intended to let the children pretend to do was just not going to happen. Between the chaos that is life, there was no way I could swing adding “making valentine cards” to the list. So shortly after my epiphany, I found myself at Michael’s Craft Store with discounted Valentine supplies in my hand. Armed with one box per child and one extra for mistakes, I brought home the easy-peasy Valentine crafts. I am not certain these crafts were made with the intention of being cards, but they fit my need and most importantly, my children were able to put them together ALL BY THEMSELVES.
So Pinterest, with all of your allure of adorable crafts and cards and homemade gifts for teachers – you loose this round. My sanity and my precious time out-smarted you. Now mind you, I still sat for close to one hour spelling the names of 20 children and the words “to” and “from” for my Little Man, but I assure you, the pleasure and satisfaction of seeing both Little Man and his older sister create and put together their own Valentine Day cards was well worth it.
“I hate these full-time working moms”
One sentence. One thought – made by one mother about another mother.
Last I checked, we are living in the year 2013. We live in a country were we value freedom of speech and as tragic as it is to admit, this sentence – which appeared as a Facebook status – is the opinion of a mother who has the right to express this opinion.
However, this one simple ignorant sentence is explosive and hurtful to working mothers, stay-at-home mothers, part-time working mothers, small mothers, tall mothers, white mothers, black mothers, any and every mother. Why?
Because that one sentence pits us against each other.
I am not friends with the mother who posted this comment. I only know that her statement bothered a friend of mine. I am taking the time to write about this today because I want to implore to you (not just mothers, everyone) to do the following:
Support each other and the choices we make. Set aside your jealousy of what you can and can’t accomplish and learn from each other. You are the people who are guiding and teaching our future leaders. Your actions mold these little people who become the big people who will lead our country.
I’ve written this post a number of times since beginning this blog. I have learned that sometimes the most arrogant people are the loudest and most uniformed. I feel sorry for the person who wrote that post on Facebook and I do hope that she – whatever her situation may be – is content with her life.
To all the other mothers that are reading this post, I commend you for being fair and honest and human with each other. Share this with post with those you know and love and respect and show your support of each other’s choices.
Next week, I am fortunate enough to be home with my family celebrating the holiday season. With whispers of a possible white Christmas and a week filled with lavish dinners and presents and laughter, it will be a week to cherish. However, in Newtown CT, there will be 26 families among hundreds who will not share this joy.
In honor of the lives lost in Newtown CT, I am proudly, and without any shame, jumping on the bandwagon of 26 Random Acts of Kindness. A movement quickly gaining steam and believed to be started by Ann Curry, the movement is simple yet powerful. Join me (I will begin tomorrow) and spread kindness throughout your area. Simply, write/print/email 26 notes with a brief explanation and ask the recipient to pass the kindness along. The options are limitless.
In the following week, I will share photos and stories on my facebook fan page. I encourage you to share your acts as well.
This entire season has been difficult and I as I mentioned in my last post, we all need a little Christmas – let’s make this season end with kindness.
*Please note, this photo was not mine. Found online, I used picmonkey to add the text. I take no credit for this photo.
