Communication

My sister-in-law "woke" me from my working slumber by 'IM'ing me a few minutes ago. Instant messenging is another in a long line of forms of communication that it can be argued either binds us closer or forces us further apart. I choose to believe that e-mail, IM, text messeges, etc. are ways that I can connect with people whom I otherwise might ignore. Of course I'm always about half a generation behind the technology, but that's another issue altogether.

People were saying the same thing about telephones or letters, I suppose. "Why don't you go down the street and say hello to your friend in person?", a woman might have asked her son sixty or seventy years ago. It's all relative.

I do get letters on a consistent basis from one person. No emails, texts, IM's -- just letters. And it comes once a year. You've seen this type of letter, I'm sure. It's that "I had another baby this year and the son number one had his first trip to Disneyland and my husband had elective knee surgery, yada, yada, yada" update letter that annoys the crap out of me. Do I really need to read three pages of how much you love the fact that it's sunny 329 days out of the year? It truly is the most indulgent expression known to man.

I probably shouldn't complain. I'm really awful at staying in touch with people. In fact, would anyone like to volunteer to write my self-involved annual update?