SOTD: Paul Simon - 'The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)'
A few weeks ago, I read an article online about things that babies born in 2011 will know nothing about. Among the items on the list I was saddened to see 'Hand Written Letters'. I get it. We are a technological society. My eight year old god-daughter has her own blackberry style phone and has no problem texting her 2nd grade friends or navigating my facebook page (not that I encourage her to do either of these things)!
We were talking about school the other day and I mentioned that I got my first pen-pal in the second grade (Lauren from St. Paul, Minnesota) to which Gabby asked 'What's a Pen-Pal'? I explained that it was a friend that you only talk to by sending letters. She quickly stopped me to ask why not just email or call them, "it would be quicker" she noted. I was at a loss, my eight year old god-daughter had made a good point. I tried to explain how exciting it was to receive a letter from Lauren when I was her age, but it just never seemed to phase her. And then I started thinking; when was the last time I sat down and wrote a personal note and sent it out by snail mail? Better yet, when was the last time I communicated with someone outside my core network with more than 140 characters via twitter, facebook or texting? I used to be the queen of communication and now most of my thoughts can fit on a gum wrapper.
Social networking has certainly helped us stay connected and updated, but there's a bit of cognitive dissonance. As part of my goal for the new year to really 'live' my life, I've started taking a few minutes everyday to reach out to an old friend. So far, this has been such a positive thing.
Subconsciously, I think I carry some guilt over lost friendships. I've mentioned before that I let my job rule my life and it's true, for the last couple of years I worked in television my friends were the people I saw at work everyday. That isn't a bad thing, but it wasn't completely healthy either; the friendships I put aside to accommodate work were some of the most precious I've ever made.
I believe in setting a good example, so tonight I pulled out my stationary bin (yes, I actually have a bin) and showed Gabby how much fun it is to pick a cute card and write a short note and surprise a friend with an unexpected piece of mail. One of you might be in for a surprise in a day or two...
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