Reconnecting

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One of the big things I am wanting to focus upon with this new found freedom are my relationships.  To know me in the real world is to know I am not a phone person.  Was I ever?  I do believe that I was your quintessential 13 year old girl who basically had the phone attached to her ear from the moment she walked in the door from school until her mother threatened to ground her if she didn’t get off the phone and do her homework.  But I believe my phone relationship weaned by high school.  I went to boarding school, I lived with all my friends.  I walked to their rooms if I wanted to talk.  That and there weren’t any boys around, so the typical high school boy talk was kept to a surprising minimum.

So the phone and I have a love/hate relationship.  Actually, it probably should be termed as a hate/hate relationship.  To be honest, I don’t even enjoy talking to Justin on the phone…even when he is away on travel.  This confession may put me in the bad wife category, but I think I can handle it.  I have come to decide it may be biological.  My brother has such an aversion to answering the phone and just talking it is almost amusing.  But when he calls you, he can talk your ear off.  If you call him, it is very similar to talking to a concrete wall.

I moved in middle school and again in high school.  Then I went to boarding school, so I didn’t have a home town in common with my classmates.  All my friends quickly became long distance friendships.  The same went for college and graduate school friendships.  Thank goodness for the evolution of email, otherwise I may honestly be friendless.  It nearly takes a clear sign from God to motivate me to pick up the phone to just call and chat.  I can do email (fairly frequently but I know there are people out there who would even argue this!) and I ADORE snail mail.

Taking the time to buy a card or stationary is fun for me.  Sitting down and writing someone a little note is slightly liberating.  Dreaming of them checking their mail, expecting only bills and finding an unexpected letter from me always makes me smile.

You would think if I can take the time to mail a card then I would definitely be able to punch in 10 digits into my cell phone.

Unfortunately, that process is like pulling teeth.

But I’m trying to change it. I quit my job so that I could have more time to focus on me and to find my happiness.  My friends, especially my good girlfriends, definitely mean happiness.  I am not the type of person who  has a multitude of friends. I have a handful of extremely close friends that I cherish.  They are scattered across the US, but whenever we get together you wouldn’t think a moment had past.

Last night, while thinking about this, I picked up the cell phone and called Alice in Austin.  We chatted for about 10-15 minutes and then hung up.  I think she thought it was strange–I called for no reason. I think she kept thinking I would get to my point of the phone call because I so rarely just call to talk.  But this is something I’m going to continue building upon. Calling people to just say hi and check in. Call my friends, call my siblings, even call my grandmother!

Thank goodness nearly everyone I know uses Verizon so it is free! Otherwise my dwindling bank account may argue this new habit!

To Smile.