Day 338
Connections …
I ventured outside today to put out the garbage cans for pick up tomorrow, to get my mail on the front porch and to lean out the door to let the dogs out and then back in the back door … and never once did I leave my property.
And yet … today I was in Canada and Florida, Washington, Iowa, Indiana, California, Colorado (several locations there) and Illinois. All without leaving home.
The phone system is an amazing thing … we can call anywhere we want to and be connected to ones we hold near and dear … even though they may be far and dear.
Today I had a good long chat with my friend up in Canada. She surprised me with a phone call just as I was starting to put away my Christmas. (I’m done, by the way, Andrea!) We are friends of the heart … friends via internet … penpals of cosmic proportions. We have never met and yet I feel we are sisters. She is going through an exceptionally hard time – facing breast cancer treatments and surgery on the heels of her husband’s cancer treatments. Her grace and sweetness make me cry knowing what is going on in her body. I want it out. I want her well.
I also chatted with my kids … which is ALWAYS a good thing. Sam called me. Ted called me. I called Sam back. Connections. We are connected … and though one is in Colorado and the other in Washington, we are together always in our hearts.
I also sent pictures and texts to Sam and a few friends. These cells phones are amazing pieces of technology. Staying connected has never been easier or more fun!
The postal service is an amazing institution. Where else, for 45 cents, can you put a letter outside your house and in 3-5 days it arrives at your friend’s house? I think that is just shy of miraculous! Talk about cheap connections! I received a newsy letter from good friends in Iowa today (sorry about your house and crops, guys!) along with a holiday package from my dear friend, Beth, in CO. Just when I had run out of holiday chocolate … there she was with more for me (in a cute reindeer holder, too). Sweet sustenance! Sweet reindeer! Sweet Beth!
The internet service/system is an amazing thing. I still do not know how this all works … and I really don’t care to understand it. Let’s just say it’s one of the great mysteries of life to me and I’m okay with that.
In the blink of an eye I can type a note to a friend in California and she gets it. I “chatted” via email with a friend in Indiana this afternoon … after receiving a really sweet email from a friend in Colorado this morning. I sent out 15 emails this afternoon to friends in CO … just “you’re on my mind” ones … and got several back in reply. I chatted, again, with Andrea up in Canada … and Sam … and Ted. I had a quick correspondence with a client here in Illinois and a long letter with a friend in Florida. Connections. Connectedness.
I visited with so many today and never left home. Amazing.
In any case … connections. They keep us close … even when we’re not.