Put negatively, I have had to say a lot of good-byes. I have left a lot of people behind, I have witnessed the slow deterioration of many friendships, and I always at any moment, can say that I am deeply missing someone.
But listen.
I love my travels. I love packing my bag, as I excitedly text (or inform via the facebook wall feature), the relevant people that I will be visiting! "Hooray!" they always respond. "How long are you here for? When are you free? What's your schedule like? Do you like spicy foods?"
And for one beautiful weekend, week, or month, I get to enjoy those friends and terrific family members.
But then, the worst part comes. Always. No matter what. A messy collision of tears, snot, sad embraces, stifled sniffles, and red cheeks is the inevitable grand finale of every vacation. What follows is the sad, sad, sad dialogue between people(s) I love and yours truly. This is a symphony of choked up goodbyes, pleas to please keep in touch, and promises of remaining close friends even though we'll be separated by miles and continents and years.
Only a couple of days ago, I had a really great phone chat with a friend who I went to college with (by the way, if there was ever a line I could say that would make me feel post-grad old, that was it), and we were thrilled to discover that the quality of our conversations didn't seem to suffer too much from our live-to-phone transition. I was walking in my small, quiet South Lyon subdivision, and he was wandering the busy streets of New York City. Talk about bridging the gap, eh. It felt wonderful to be able to "catch up" with my friend, but at the end of the hour-long phone call, we both hung up, left to wonder about how long it would be until the next time, and whether we'd meet in his city or mine. (I hope it's his!)
As of late, I've been thinking about this very thing-- the attempts of keeping in touch. What does it entail? How do you accomplish it? What equates successful keeping in touch? Snail mail? E-mails? Phone calls? How often?
I wonder a lot these days about whether or not I am someone who's good at keeping in touch. Who are my best friends? Can they be people who I don't see on a regular basis? How many friends can I keep? Why can't we all just be together always? Preferably living in the same cul-de-sac.
Blogosphere, the entirety of this post can be summed up with the following: please write me a letter, because I probably miss you.
bcl.
Only a couple of days ago, I had a really great phone chat with a friend who I went to college with (by the way, if there was ever a line I could say that would make me feel post-grad old, that was it), and we were thrilled to discover that the quality of our conversations didn't seem to suffer too much from our live-to-phone transition. I was walking in my small, quiet South Lyon subdivision, and he was wandering the busy streets of New York City. Talk about bridging the gap, eh. It felt wonderful to be able to "catch up" with my friend, but at the end of the hour-long phone call, we both hung up, left to wonder about how long it would be until the next time, and whether we'd meet in his city or mine. (I hope it's his!)
As of late, I've been thinking about this very thing-- the attempts of keeping in touch. What does it entail? How do you accomplish it? What equates successful keeping in touch? Snail mail? E-mails? Phone calls? How often?
I wonder a lot these days about whether or not I am someone who's good at keeping in touch. Who are my best friends? Can they be people who I don't see on a regular basis? How many friends can I keep? Why can't we all just be together always? Preferably living in the same cul-de-sac.
Blogosphere, the entirety of this post can be summed up with the following: please write me a letter, because I probably miss you.
bcl.
