Facebook is an interesting thing, that I'm just beginning to learn about since I only created an account about six months ago. I'm the type of person who would much rather have meaningful face-to-face conversations with true friends than chat with people online who I barely recognize from my past or who I consider mere acquaintances of convenience. But that's just me, my personality.

I recently received a message via Facebook from one of my closest friends from high school. She had copied several others as well and is hoping to arrange somewhat of a reunion for next summer. She said she'd like to go on a canoe trip down the Wisconsin River just like we used to every summer from 1989 to 1998. I immediately began to reminisce over the past - recalling old memories, laughing to myself. Life was much simpler then.

It took me a few days to respond to my friend's initial message, but I found some of the other responses a bit humorous. The first to respond were the friends who are still living in Chicago, married and have children. They were quick to mention specific dates in which they would be available. They're ready to leave the city, to get out and be free for a short bit of time. The friends who responded later on were those like myself, having moved far from home and still flailing about the world, trying to grasp which direction to take next. They're ready to return home, but making plans a year in advance seems daunting and unrealistic. Who knows where we'll be tomorrow, let alone 12 months from now?

What I gather from these message threads is that the friends who are more settled in life are yearning for an escape from the mundane, but the friends who seem to be winging it through life are more interested in rekindling old friendships for a brief moment and then moving onto the next opportunity. It'll be interesting to see what follows in the next several months, if we can actually pull all of ourselves together to reconnect and enjoy ourselves, this time as adults instead of teenagers. Maybe it'll be an awkward experience, but maybe it'll also be rewarding and bring new memories for all of us to share.