A MUSING
I was thinking about Facebook today.  To me, it's cool how so many of my Moebius friends and contacts are on there.  It's fun keeping up with them.  A real support network has grown there, and in addition it helps feed and encourage other online activities...like this and other blogs, for example, along with various websites, causes, etc.  We're able to keep up with what's going on.  When someone hurts, we can offer condolences.  When something great happens, we can all cheer.

I know the dangers of Facebook and other online media.  It can be addicting and suck up too much of your time.  You can sometimes sort of be acquainted with people, and "friend" them...and yet not really know them.  Some of your "friends" maybe are not really friends.  Such online relationships can lack depth and meaning.

And yet...and yet.  On the other hand, on Facebook, I've seen real relationships form.  I can tell that some people talk about real, serious stuff.  A couple of Moebius friends of mine have seen a real friendship blossom because of their talks on Facebook; and I think there's a real chance they'll go visit each other, hang out, and have fun.  And that wouldn't have happened without FB.  And then there's just this simple fact:  keeping up with people this way reminds us of something.  It reminds us in this case that persons with Moebius Syndrome...as we keep up with them in their daily lives...well, they have real lives.  They have jobs, they have families, they have successes, they have struggles...but they're people.  They're like everyone else.  And that's one of the big things we want people to know.  We're people--like everyone else.

Oh, we sometimes have a few more obstacles than does the average person.  And parents of Moebius children will tell you that sometimes the trips to the doctor and to the specialist etc are a lot more than what other parents have to go through.  But still--we're people, good people, and I really hope that the non-Moebius, non-facial-difference persons that see this every day or happen to read this will remember that.  And spread the word.

"The bravest thing you can do when you are not brave is to profess
courage and act accordingly." -Corra Harris