My Name is Emmy Lane...

My name is Emmy Lane and I'm in love with a little something called Facebook.

Let me explain...

When I said "I do" almost 15 years ago, I really, truly thought it would be forever. I mean, seriously, if you're walking down that aisle and you know deep down inside this marriage is not gonna last, why do it? Deep down inside, I really, truly thought it would last.

As I slowly approached the dreaded age of 40 and two incredible, but crazy kids later, that really, truly feeling had gone away. Replaced, in fact, with a different kind of really, truly feeling. A really, truly feeling of I know this marriage just isn't working out. Uh oh...

I joined Facebook two years ago. Ironically it was at the encouragement of my ex-husband to get on. My 20-year high school reunion was a few months away and it was the perfect opportunity to reconnect.

The reunion came and went, and of course, I was back in touch with a ton of people on Facebook. Several months and several hundred Facebook friends later, I was starting to spend more and more time on Facebook. That's when I started to feel those really, truly feelings starting to change and I realized I was just not happy in my own marriage.

The crazy thing is, well, maybe it's not so crazy, but the more time I spent on Facebook and reconnected with people from my past, the more I realized how much I had lost my identity. The more people I found from my past, the happier I was. Why? They knew me as me...not as some one's wife or mother. They knew me as me!

Whether it was a friend from camp or college, high school or elementary school, the connections and feelings were there. The more intimate the conversation became, the more I realized I need to make some changes in my life.

My ex husband and I separated last summer and I haven't looked back since. Facebook didn't cause the breakup of my marriage. It simply made me realize I was not alone. On Facebook, I had a support system and an incredible network of friends. Facebook empowered me. It allowed me to be me again. I had been lost for so many years and now, I am happy to say, I am found.

This is only the beginning. Facebook changed my life and this is my story.

Simply,

Emmy Lane...xx