The real reason I love Facebook

I'm going to try (key word) to keep this post short, but just like a really good plot, sometimes you need an unabridged version to satisfy.

I have a crazy family. I know, you're thinking who doesn't? But the special brand of crazy in my family is spectacular. I love it. I always have. As a little girl, I always felt like a movie viewer to my own life at family gatherings. My uncles were the hilarious leading male roles and my aunts were the beguiling, if not long-suffering and ever eye-rolling leading ladies. To put it in terms of 80's pop culture; my uncles were the Jack Trippers and my aunts the Janets of my life.

I have the fondest memories of watching their sibling rivalry manifest itself into things like an indoor hand-stand contest, or a singing-Christmas-carols-over-the-other contest. And the one-upsmanship in joke telling was almost mind bending at times for me.

But it wasn't always fun and games. I learned valuable life lessons from my uncles. I learned that you don't EVER outgrow parental scoldings. And that a hand-stand contest in your 40's leads to days of soreness. I learned that ANY word can be used as the basis of a joke (even if you have to stretch it beyond its recognizable origins).

I so wanted to interact with these beloved characters, but much like your favorite TV show, they were untouchable. Separated by the distance of a generation and my ignorance in spinning tall tales at such a young age (oh, and that one incident where I wrote a curse word on paper and blamed it on my most innocent cousin). Separated by my obnoxious pre-teen years and then my absolute disrespect for all adults in my teen years. Finally, separated by my inevitable, but exploding adult life and family.

Then, Facebook happened. My uncles slowly joined one by one. And now I have access to their hilarity on an ongoing basis; not just at Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. My uncles might be the real reason I love Facebook so much.


I have a few uncles who might be embarrassed by this post. And a few who will take complete credit for it. But they are all part of the ensemble cast that made up my favorite sitcom. My childhood.