Had a chance to chat with a former coworker friend who is off doing the New York actor thing. A couple days ago, spoke with a newlywed college friend I haven't talked to in over a year. Last week, I talked briefly with another college friend I hadn't seen or spoken to in even longer. You know what the common thread running through all three conversations was?
They all seemed genuinely excited to talk to me.
Now, I'm not saying this to say, "Gee, I'm surprised. I thought they'd alllll forgotten about me. Oh my, it looks like rain." I know these people as friends so the fact that the conversations were pleasant isn't the surprise. The revelation came in the fact that I think I really made these peoples' day just by checking in to say, "Hi, how are you doing? I've been thinking about you." One even told me how encouraging it was to be reminded that people "back home" are interested in her career and cheering/praying for her. And here I'm thinking, "Wow! I really cheered her up! And it was SO SIMPLE!"
The Internet has revolutionized long-distance friendships. We know everything everybody is doing these days. We read their blogs, we check out their flickr pics, we see the statuses and the hilarious new profile pictures, etc. And with as busy as we are from day to day, it kinda saves us the trouble of actual correspondence. We poke, we like, we comment, we're done. Best Friends Forever.
Now obviously, I'm not opposed to social media sites. We all know I Facebook and Twitter (though I'm contemplating shutting that one down), and I blog every freaking day for crying out loud. I want to see who has new pictures and who's working on what project. I think that's all great. However, in spite of (and perhaps because of) all of that, nothing compares to taking the time to talk to one another. Or even "chat." (When I was a kid, "chat" was actually just another word for "talk." Unbelievable!)
So: FOMW homework. Catch up with an old friend today. Or tomorrow, if you don't have ten minutes to spare today. Let 'em know you're thinking about 'em. Tell 'em what you're up to. It's fun, it's easy, and it just may be the encouragement they (or you) have been needing.
