Falling for Facebook

So, I pretend not to Facebook (although I actually peek in fairly regularly), mostly because I know myself well enough to recognize that I could easily become addicted and spend WAY too much time browsing.  Moderation doesn't come easily for me--most of my "self-control" comes from controlling my environment.  Since I know I will binge on cookies, I don't bring them into my house.  Since the social media scene can suck me in for hours, I turn off the screen.

With that said, a couple days ago, I actually posted to Facebook.  Heck, I even uploaded my first profile picture.  It was, admittedly, kind of awesome.  Within minutes, responses started rolling in from coast to coast, primarily from people I haven't heard from in years.  I loved the instant feedback and immediate sense of connection.  I confess it stroked my pride; I felt, well, popular! 

I often whine about how online interactions are a poor substitute for face-to-face communication, but social networking creates a very real sense of belonging.  This powerful experience, while admittedly impressive, also left me feeling wary.  It seems like the lonely would be particularly vulnerable to the effects of social networking--hungry for inclusion and acceptance, yet without strong resources to combat online rejection.  I worry about helping my children safely navigate these fast moving waters.  Readers, how do you help yourselves and your families create a healthy and supportive online social network? 

 Anyway, I digress.  Here is the tidbit I shared on Facebook.  

Okey dokey, folks--little bit of news around here. Last week Jason accepted a position as the director of a small, non-profit community design center, ASSIST, in Salt Lake City. While we're sad to be leaving family, friends, a great school, and a great job here in Omaha, we're excited for this new opportunity to expand professionally into a niche that matches Jason's strengths so well.

In the meantime, we're busy getting our lovely old home ready to put on the market and figuring out what to do for housing in Salt Lake. If you have any suggestions or recommendations on either end, please feel free to leave a message here or PM me. Jason's new office is just a couple blocks from the Salt Lake City library, and he'd like to be able to bike to work, so we are searching primarily in that vicinity. Since housing prices are high, we might expand our search as long as there is good access to public transportation. As far as the kids go, we're hoping to keep them in dual language Spanish/English immersion programs. At the moment, we're leaning towards renting for a while as we figure everything out. Jason's work begins mid-June, but the kids and I will probably follow a month later.

So much to think about! Change is always hard. We are so grateful for the love and friendship that so many have shared with us here in Omaha. We will miss you!

There is so much more to be said, but no amount of online chatter is going to get our house ready to put on the market next week.  We often quip about how it's hard to keep up with technological change, but it's pretty challenging keeping up with our family's geographic changes as well.  Since getting married, Jason and I have resided in: New York, Utah, New York, Utah, Nebraska, Illinois, France, Illinois, Utah, New York, Nebraska, and now back to Utah.  No matter the state, we seem to keep bouncing away.  Good news is that we also seem to keep bouncing back.