Friendly Fun by Fone and Facebook

Yesterday was a friend-friendly day.

My first surprise came when the phone rang. I am always a little apprehensive about answering the phone because, even in the age of caller ID there are unwelcome surprises. But, we have a business at home, so I almost always answer, because you never know when it's going to be your next client. This time the ID said "ST OF CALIFORNIA CON," certainly no one I recognize, and other than my mom, nothing California appeals to me. But, oddly enough, for a mostly local business, we get calls from all over the country, so, hesitant or not, I answered.

I was greeted by a deep voice saying, "Is this the A residence?" Followed by, "Is this M, also known as L?"

"Y-e-s-s-s-s...?"

And then, "This is DD." Oh, my, what a surprise!!! DD and I are friends of a rather unusual sort. We met probably some 40 years ago or so, when his parents hired me to babysit for him and his younger brother JD. I believe their father and my father had some sort of work connection.

DD was a fun kid to hang out with, and his parents were very nice to work for. JD...well, he was a bit more challenging than DD, but very likable, and now, having raised some challenging grand/sons of my own, I have a whole new appreciation for JD and boys like him ;-)

DD and I have stayed in touch over the years, mostly with letters and Xmas cards, and once with a visit when his traveling job sent him to the town where we lived. Over the years life has gotten faster and furious-er, and the letters have dwindled to only Xmas cards.

It turns out that DD now does some sort of research for the State of California, which is how he happened to come across my boy on the internet, prompting him to call me. We didn't talk long, but it was long enough. Long enough to re-establish a connection of good memories of good times.

My other surprise was WW on Facebook. WW and I are a much more likely pair. We became friends about 20 years ago when my family moved to Houston and joined the WW-led homeschool support group, our hands-down, no-contest favorite homeschool group in our entire homeschooling career. As homeschooling moms we had a lot of common interests, and our children became friends as well.

We, too, have kept in touch over the years with sporadic letters, and through our children, and like everyone who has lasted longer than a few days in this life, we have each been through some hard things and some difficulties, but here we are...alive-and-well survivors on Facebook!

Techno-tard that I am, I have to give high-tech its due. And I'm going to need to adjust my attitude to love it...EEK!...because that, it seems, is where my friends live.