Recently I called an old friend to catch up on things. After the usual "How's it going?", he started telling me about his daughter being difficult the past two years since becoming a teen and entering high school. Nothing crazy, just regular teen angst. He wasn't complaining, just sharing a struggle he'd been dealing with and it came out during the course of our talk. We finished up our conversation, wished each other a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
The next day in the mail, I received his Christmas card with photo of the family. Inside the card was the "family letter". You know the letter that tells you what the family has been doing in the past year. Even though we just spoke, I read the letter anyway - WHAT? No mention of the daughter being a pain in the butt! That was the best part of our conversation!!! How could he have left that part out. Surely, this was a mistake.
OK, I'm joking! Kinda. Of course he's not going to share that information with everyone, but sometimes these end of year letters don't share enough truth. Nobody's family is perfect, so share just enough dirt to make you look human, but at the same time allow me to empathize with you while feeling better about myself.
Something like, "I think my wife drinks a little too much" is just enough info for everyone to keep an eye on her without it being a major surprise at the intervention next year....just sayin'.
I guess what I am trying to say is that you really need to hear a persons voice or see them in person to really know what is going on in their lives. Facebook posts and Twitter Tweets just don't cut it, they only give you the sound bites of a person's life.
I would challenge everyone in 2012 to pick up the phone or meet with a family or friend and reconnect minus the technology. OK, you can use a phone to call them, but it must be a rotary phone! After you meet, you can Tweet or Facebook post all about it!
God bless and Happy New Year to you all!
The next day in the mail, I received his Christmas card with photo of the family. Inside the card was the "family letter". You know the letter that tells you what the family has been doing in the past year. Even though we just spoke, I read the letter anyway - WHAT? No mention of the daughter being a pain in the butt! That was the best part of our conversation!!! How could he have left that part out. Surely, this was a mistake.
OK, I'm joking! Kinda. Of course he's not going to share that information with everyone, but sometimes these end of year letters don't share enough truth. Nobody's family is perfect, so share just enough dirt to make you look human, but at the same time allow me to empathize with you while feeling better about myself.
Something like, "I think my wife drinks a little too much" is just enough info for everyone to keep an eye on her without it being a major surprise at the intervention next year....just sayin'.
I guess what I am trying to say is that you really need to hear a persons voice or see them in person to really know what is going on in their lives. Facebook posts and Twitter Tweets just don't cut it, they only give you the sound bites of a person's life.
I would challenge everyone in 2012 to pick up the phone or meet with a family or friend and reconnect minus the technology. OK, you can use a phone to call them, but it must be a rotary phone! After you meet, you can Tweet or Facebook post all about it!
God bless and Happy New Year to you all!
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