Tuesday, May 1, 2012

An "About-Face" about Facebook

An "about-face" is a reversal of attitude, behavior, or point of view.

I admit I was more than reluctant to join Facebook.  Who needed to know what everyone else was doing, thinking, or reading?  Autonomy is good, right?  But I signed up with FB and was determined not to get too serious with its content.  I'll just have fun, keep it light.

Then I did an about-face.

When tragedy strikes, we look for reasons why.  We ask ourselves, "what if?"  And then we reach out for support.  In today's world, that is Facebook.

About a week ago, my daughter and I were involved in a tragic accident that resulted in the loss of her horse.  Within three seconds, a wonderful morning ride had turned horrific. Badly bruised, but still alive, my daughter picked herself up off the gravel road and gave her attention to her horse.  While her life had been spared, we were unable to save his.

So the haunting questions began.  We drove in silence to the emergency room, our minds cluttered with the day's events.  Any words we wanted to say could not be spoken.

Later that evening, I posted a status update on Facebook because I didn't know what else to do.  My daughter needed more support and reassurance than I was able to give.  The responses came in immediately, and they were many.  It was remarkable.

In the still of the evening, we read the responses through our tears.
The healing could begin.

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