INSTAGRAM | THE AUTHENTIC ECLECTIC
I Hate Instagram and Could Delete it in the Blink of an Eye, But Then This Happened
Maybe I can find a little reason to be thankful for it
Instagram is useless.
It adds no quality to my life and aggravates the hell out of me.
Well, except for that one good thing that just happened last month.
Maybe I can find a little reason to be thankful for it.
I get it. I am not tech-savvy. Can you say, ‘washed-up 57-year-old, resistant-to-learning-the-damn-Instagram-site, tired of the frustration, Grandma?’
That would be me.
I have never been able to add a link to market my wage-earning sites. I post a pic and paste a copied link that never hyperlinks.
Ever.
Nobody reads my stuff found on Instagram so there’s that, too.
I stopped posting there unless I’m incredibly bored.
Instagram is useless.
To me, it is just another time-wasting, scrolling through someone else’s photo album filled with perfection, lies, and pressure, site.
Yawn.
I only open the app from my phone when the red bubble appears.
The alerts I get are activities from my kids.
Their posts simply allow me a visual of what I already know. Sweet, I suppose, but time-consuming, especially on the weekends.
Chances are I have already seen the photos elsewhere, like in my texts.
So, Instagram is useless.
Well, except for that one good thing that just happened last month.
Maybe I can find a little reason to be thankful.
The red alert bubble popped up as I used my phone to play a killer move on Words with Friends. You know, important business.
I clicked the icon with zero excitement.
Instagram is a chore like dusting. But, like Pavlov’s dog, the red attracts my eye and I press the app to open.
Hmmmm.
Someone followed me.
Someone I know.
Someone I haven’t seen nor communicated with in over 30 years.
Someone I’ve looked for before and wondered about.
Someone who the thought of brings a smile to my face.
I followed him back.
Such great memories of tom-foolery.
For you quick-to-panic people, I had done a cursory search and confirmation/security clearance type maneuver to make sure it really was him.
Tick, tock, tick, tock, and then, wham.
Within minutes, his message came through.
No, this is not creepy.
This is good.
Sometimes in life, things come full circle.
And so, a door has opened or reopened, to allow me a stroll down memory lane.
A revisit to a carefree time of my life.
There existed no facades, no smoke and mirrors, or pressure-filled false pretenses.
It was a time period that was fun, easy, and better, simply by having this particular human connection.
A slice of my past has boldly reappeared with no fear.
And, here it is. One month from now, I will see him in person again after all this time.
Decades.
A lot of water has passed under the bridge of life. Yet, the foundation of our friendship has not worn away. It seems like just yesterday.
Sort of?
There was no stilted and awkward conversation.
There was an instant, revert back to almost four decades ago, “Remember this?”
“What about this, and this, and remember that? Best days, ever.”
And, they were.
His business brings him to my area a few times a year. Who knew? He was in my neck of the woods the month before he found me through Instagram.
He didn’t know I was here. I didn’t know he was here, either. We never crossed paths.
Next month is one of those business treks that brings him back.
Funny thing about life.
Funny thing about an app I once hated with a vengeance.
Maybe Instagram isn’t so useless after all.
* In case I forget to tell you later ~ if you’re reading this, thanks for finding me.
I’ve already had a great time reconnecting!
I’ll be sure to post a pic of our reunion on the ‘gram.
Wait until I tell him about this day:
Or this time ~ and he won’t even be scared off:
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Copyright © 2022 Lisa Gerard Braun. All rights reserved.
