I got one!

One of the reasons I like Christmas is that I get mail.  You know, REAL mail . . . in an envelope with a stamp on it, delivered to my box.  As a younger person, before computers, I used to live for the mailman so I could see if someone had written me a letter.  Back then we had "pen pals".  It was such fun to get mail and then rush right in to answer their missive.  Or what about those old "love" letters?  Did you keep any of those?  Those had special thoughts and feelings just for me.  I even have some that my Grandmother wrote to my grandfather when he was homesteading on the prairies of North Dakota in the very early 1900's.  What a personal history to share with my children and grandchildren.  Letters back then were rare and precious. Now those old  letters I have are extra

Love those Christmas cards!

precious to me since the people are gone.  My mother kept every card I ever sent her for birthdays, Mother's Day, and other occasions.  She literally had drawers full of them.  Obviously they meant something to her.

I recently got a letter from our niece after the holidays.  It was four pages of handwritten news about her family.  What a delight!  Yes, it was nice to get the news, but even more special was the fact that she had taken time to sit down and hand write a letter.  Because it does take time and thought.  There is nothing wrong with

Precious memories from years ago!

texting, but how much information to you get?  How much time does it take the sender to message you?  I felt special and important that someone had decided I was worth more than a mere flick of the finger and a couple words.

Communication seems to have fallen by the wayside in our lives.  We don't talk to each other anymore, we text or e-mail.  Those are one sided communiques, a conversation is two sided.  Is it really that much harder to pick up the telephone and talk where you can hear the joy or pain in a voice?  I have admitted my love for words and thus, I send lengthy, detailed e-mails to my friends, albeit they are one sided (mine) but I am ever so patiently waiting to hear their side.  They may prefer something shorter but it isn't in me to leave out details.

This week my partners and I had a work day at the The Calico Cupboard.  We took a lunch break at a local restaurant and just visited for a little while.  It was special, it was personal, it wasn't about work.  I believe we need to do that more often.  How hard is it to call a friend for coffee or lunch or short get away?  I suspect they need it as much as you do.  We connect, we empathize, we share, we listen.  And we leave feeling better . . . needed, wanted, loved.

So do you want to touch someone's life this year?  Then really touch them.  Stop for a visit, invite them to join you, listen to what is important in their life, include them in an activity.  Not so hard, but it does take time.  A good man once told me that love is spelled "t-i-m-e".  And I believe he was right.  If we truly care, we will give two of the most important things we have . . . our time and our ability to listen.

Just writin' on the River Road