I love a good fresh homegrown tomato.

Growing up in the rural south they were always available right from our garden in summer. Now, living in the city I eat tasteless, thin-skinned grocery store tomatoes all year and eagerly look forward to my first ‘real’ tomato in summer.

The last few years even the ones I’ve gotten from roadside stands and farmers markets have been disappointing. They say “homegrown” and “vine-ripened” but they aren’t the tasty ones I remember.

Last summer my cousin-in-law posted a photo of their overflowing table of tomatoes on Facebook. I commented that I wanted to buy some. She brought a pile to the family reunion for me. (She didn’t allow me to pay as she had plenty, we’re cousins and that’s the way it is in the south.) They were delicious!

Before Facebook I went to family reunions and saw relatives that I only see at reunions, weddings and funerals. The conversations rarely went beyond the, “How are y’all doing?” phase. These days, thanks to Facebook, I know what’s going on in their lives, the names of their grandchildren and details about their lives. Family reunions are more fun now as I really ‘know’ my extended family better from their posts.

Getting closer with extended family is an unexpected benefit of Facebook for me.

What about you? Are you connecting on Facebook?

Learn more about Myra at www.MyraMcElhaney.com. My memoir Building A Life You Love After Losing the Love of Your Life is available on Amazon.com