I'm in the big pond.

Every summer we face a rite of passage at my farm.  Little ducklings that hatched in the spring are released.  When they are small, I raise them up in a protected pen with netting over the top to keep them safe from hawks and fencing to contain them.  I make it as nice as possible, but nothing compares to the natural life.  Ducks are meant to live in the pond and I have a dandy one for them.  It covers a quarter of an acre with lovely shade around the edges.  It's an established pond full of life.  In fact, the big pond is the perfect place for ducks. 

It isn't easy for them to see it.  Getting them to leave the pen and go down to the big pond usually goes something like this.

Me: (opens gate) Go! Be free!


Ducks: We'll just stay in here.

Me: No, seriously. Go on out guys. It's time. You're all big enough to swim in the big pond now.

Ducks: We like it here. Thanks anyway.

Me: But there's life outside your pen. See? See the water? There's a big pond down there.

Ducks: We have water.

Me: You have a kiddie pool.

Ducks: It's water.

Me: This is a real pond with fish and frogs and aquatic plant life and the thing is huge. It's duckie heaven. You'll love it.

Ducks: No.

Me: (chasing them around, flapping arms) Get out of the pen! Shoo! Go!

Ducks (running in mad circles flapping wings) Do not want! Do not want!

I should be more understanding of the ducks, because I am also resistant to change.  I'm really a social person.  Okay, not really, but I can be.  But social media stuff?  That gives me hives.  I lurk on message boards for years before joining and even after I join, it takes me a while to start posting.

Eventually I get in the swing of things, but I'm a slow adopter.  I don't facebook.  I don't tweet.

Wait.

Change that last one.  I refuse to Facebook because of their privacy issues, but I decided to dip my toes into the enormous social pond of Twitter.  I've posted a grand total of one tweet.  Exciting, I know.

So I'm margueritwrites there.

Now what?  I have no clue how to navigate and no friends as of yet.  It's like going into a new school with a million new faces looking at you.    Gah!    Friend me?

My first challenge is to figure out how to make the dang thing work.  My second will be to keep it from sucking all my time.  Cause once you get in the pond.  Getting out is hard.  Eventually my ducklings go out and discover how wonderful life in the big pond can be. Then they don't want to get out of the water and go in their nice safe duck house for the night. My evenings become a replay of the above scene, but in reverse.


Me: Get out of the pond and come in the house.

Ducks: But we like it in here.

Me: But it isn't safe at night. You need to come inside.

Ducks: (sitting in middle of pond) Make us.

Me: Do not want!