Rejected!

It's happened. I sent a facebook friend request and it was declined. (You can tell if you look at your friend list. When you send a request, that person shows up as "pending". If they "ignore" you, they disappear.) Now, I am sure this is not the first time this has happened to me, but this is the first one that I cared about.
This particular person popped up as a someone I may know suggestion, because of a mutual friend (who DID accept my request a long time ago, thank you very much). I was really excited to see this person, because this was someone I really cared a lot about and lost touch with almost 15 years ago. He was a friend that I spent entirely too many hours at the local Denny's with after rehearsals for our community college theatre. He helped me keep my little self together the day my mom announced to me as she was dropping me off at the bus stop that my parent's divorce was final. He went along with my act that I was OK with the news, while really knowing I was devastated but too busy with tech week to actually BE devastated. He is someone I still think of fondly, and really truly wish all the happiness in the world.
Apparently, I left no such impression on him. Or at least that's how I am interpreting it. My loving husband is indulging my indignation. After all, HE married me, why wouldn't some guy want to be facebook friends with someone as wonderful as me? My PM girls (they know who they are) suggested maybe his wife isn't to keen on her husband having female friends from his past on his facebook list.
My incredibly dear friend K (who makes many excellent, insightful points, and I am honored for him to be both a facebook friend and an actual one) thinks we all need to be a little more choosy about how we use the term "friend". When these people from our pasts pop up, we are so quick to call them "friend" that we are devaluing the relationships we so carefully tend and nuture. I see what he means, as I have several people on my facebook that, while it's nice to know that they are doing well and are happy, ultimately, my life goes on exactly the same as it did before I clicked on their profiles.
So, S, I will get over your rejection. I hope your facebook page is filled with people who love you and you love back. And should you change your mind, I am happy to accept your friend request.