Real Facebook Status Updates

Me and MJ this past weekend. The dog tags have the name of one
of our closest friend's (Jono and Heather Long) newly adopted
child on them... Sawyer Vitya Long. Even though we're not there
to celebrate with them (in person) we have something that helps us
 feel connected (thanks Kelley!) all the way from Brazil.

Our little house in the jungles of Campina Grande do Sul, Brazil.

I was talking to a friend of mine several weeks ago (whatup Jono!?) and we were talking about how bogus (do people even use that word any more?) a lot of Facebook status updates were. You know what I’m talking about, right? It’s where all people do is post things that make their life look more appealing and better than yours. Or it’s where they say things to people they care about publicly on Facebook rather than just getting off the computer, going into the next room and telling the person ‘in person!’ It goes something like this: 

“Hey baby, today’s our anniversary and I just want to tell you how much I love you and that I’m sooooo blessed to have you as my lifelong friend and partner and I couldn’t imagine being with anyone but you and I still can’t believe your mine! xoxoxoxo”

Seriously? Why do people say that stuff on Facebook and not just do it in person? Is it because they’re too lazy to get out of the chair and walk across the room? Is it because that’s just the day and time we live in and technology is king (rather than communicating face to face)? Or could it be that we trying to create the illusion that our life and our marriage is better than the next person and that we’re soooo much in love and we have no problems? Because if we’re just stating the truth why don’t we post the opposite side of the coin too? I can’t ever remember reading a status update that said: “today’s our anniversary and we just argued for the 17th time and it’s only 9:00am! I can’t believe we’ve made it this far without killing each other! PTL!”

And probably my all-time favorite post is when someone posts what they’re eating. Really? Is this what we’ve come to? Posting a picture and a status of what we’re eating? Do we really think people actually care that we’re eating Tetrazzini Alfredo with a side of asparagus spears tossed in a homemade garlic sauce? And do we actually think that people are so interested that they want to see a picture too? For some reason I don’t think so. And, why we’re on the subject, why not post the picture of you eating  PB&J or Ramen noodles because you ran out of money and Friday’s still 2 days away?

Or rather than only posting the picture of the beach you’re at and how relaxing it is, why not post the picture of you sitting at your desk (at work) buried under a mountain of paperwork and moments away from quitting. Then you could post the caption under the picture- “my boss is such a jerk and he’s lucky I don’t come back here with an uzi and mow this whole place down.” Where are all of those status updates? 

Now I must admit I’m just as guilty too. I don’t think I’ve ever been totally truthful either. I mean, who wants everybody else to think that your life is crappy? And who wants to admit that their life isn’t all about eating awesome food, hanging out with the coolest people, being at the most amazing vacation spots, being so much in love with your spouse that anyone within an 8 mile radius has to take a shot of insulin just to avoid going into diabetic shock because your relationship is so sweet? Not me. 

And when it comes to statuses, I’m only posting the wins, not the losses. You’ll never see the post (with the picture, of course) of me emptying out our change jug to buy groceries because not enough support came in that month. You’ll never see the picture posted of me sitting with my head in my hands (all depressed) as I’m trying to figure out how we can get back to the U.S. ad out of this place because it’s so stressful. And you won’t see me posting a picture of one of my kids report cards where they’re failing almost every class accompanied by the caption that reads “ 3-F’s, 1-C and 1 D... I think my kid may be  retarded!” And scriptures? Forget about it... because I’m only posting the encouraging scriptures that talk about how victorious and blessed that I am rather than the ones that talk about persecution, trials and the hardships that Jesus “promised” we’d face. Because Facebook is all about how awesome my life is compared to yours. And I’m not stupid, right? Why would I want to post stuff that makes my life look less exciting and less glamorous than all my friends lives?  I mean, they’re all my “friends” and I’ve got an image to uphold, right? haha!

What would Facebook statuses look like if we were all being truthful all the time? Sure, there’d be good stuff, but there’d also have to be negative stuff sometimes too. Because life isn’t always good, right? Just a thought.

Now just because I ranted for the last 5 minutes doesn’t mean that I’m gonna start posting stuff that makes me look like a loser and that my life isn’t as amazing as I want you to think it is... I’m too much of a wuss to do that : )

Living My Awesome Life,

Jim