A Slap In The Facebook

Last week I was complaining that no one ever asks to be my friend on Facebook. I'm always sending out and sending out the requests. Just now, I asked my husband how many friends he has. Then I nearly fell off the couch when he told me he's zeroing in on 500.

Not one person from my childhood or college years has sought me out. No old boyfriends. No flirtatious crushes of days of yore. No one from Student Council camp. Hell, I'm pretty sure almost every single one of my Facebook friends is someone I searched for and found.

So imagine my surprise when my former Stepmother recently commented on one of my cousin's photos.

History: My father, who had custody and was my primary caregiver, married Carol when I was five. We lived together for over ten years until the time that she told my father that either "she goes or I go". I ended up skipping a year of high school and living with my grandparents. Carol and my Dad divorced shortly thereafter and I drove myself to college.

I always think that I've dealt with all off this and it doesn't bother me anymore. However, as time goes by and my own children grow, I seem to get kind of murky my dealings and it brings up all kinds of issues and questions.

So, instead of making a therapy appointment, I did the next best cheapest thing. I clicked on the link that let me view all the people that my exStep is friends with. There were a few people her age. Most of my (half)sister's close friends. Suprisingly, she's friends with her first husbands child from his second marriage. But the real kicker, she's friends with my aunt. My father's sister. I had no idea my aunt was on Facebook. And guess what? She's never once requested to be my friend.

Blood may be thicker than water, but it's not friendlier on Facebook.