Keep in touch

There are so many ways to keep in touch sometimes it is just a Facebook post that makes you feel connected or a tweet.  Those things let the world at large know you are around, alive, and have kept sort of current.

The kind of keeping in touch I'm referring to is a two way conversation. Used be with letters, then the phone, then more social ways evolved, texting, snap chat, Instagram, Facebook.  I am actually a proponent of social media. I think it makes us closer as a larger society. And it has both cut down on face-to-face interactions and facilitated them.  There seem to be many cases of people connecting on Facebook after years of no contact and then finding each other on Facebook and resuming an actual relationship.  There is also the case of being friends on Facebook and never actually doing anything more than "liking" posts.

What I like about FB and Instagram is that if you know a person who posts you get a glimpse of what is going on in their world.  Therefore, when you do have a conversation you have lots to talk about if you listen and ask questions about what they post.  They can no longer answer the, "What have you been up to" query with "Nothing."  You have evidence that they been somewhere, done something and documented it!  I think the hardest thing about talking to people is figuring out what they are interested in and asking questions without prying.  It seems  a topic is open game if they have posted on social media.  Instant conversation!

One thing I am working on is not taking it personally if people don't get back to me.  I have to keep in mind that I am not always at the top of their to do list, and that isn't a problem it is a reality, everyone is busy and that good friends and acquaintances will get back to me.  If it is important I can contact them again in a different way since there are so many ways to connect.

I have to tell you a personal message via a card or letter is still fun and no matter what e-means we have available a snail mail letter is still pretty cool!  Randomly sent postcards are fun and unexpected.

Maybe it is time to head to the store and get a card for...........